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OF  CALIFORNIA 

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Wljt  Camljrttifle  Bible  for  ^ti)ooIs 
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THE    BOOK    OF    JOB. 


Hontion:   C.  J.  CLAY  and  SONS, 

CAMBRIDGE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS   WAREHOUSE, 

AVE    MARIA    LANE. 


(Tambrrtge:    DEIGHTON,   BELL,  AND  CO. 
Ecipjig:   F.  A.  BROCKHAUS. 


CI)e  Cambrilrae  33il)le  for  ^tI)Cioh 

General  Editor  :— J.  J.  S.  PEROWNE,  D.D., 
Dean  of  Peterborough. 


THE      BOOK      OF 

J  O  B, 

WITH  NOTES,   INTRODUCTION  AND  APPENDIX 


BY 

THE   REV.  A.  B.  DAVIDSON,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF   HEBREW   AND    OLD   TESTAMENT    EXEGESIS    IN   THE 

NEW   COLLEGE,    EDINBURGH. 


EDITED    FOR    THE    SYNDICS    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY   PRESS 


GTnmbrfljge : 

AT  THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 

1889 

{All  Rights  reserved.\ 


CambriUge 

]'R[.NTEI)    BY   C.    J.    CLAY   MA.    AND   SONS 
AT   THE   UNIVERSITY    PRESS 


mi 

PREFACE 
BY    THE    GENERAL  EDITOR. 

The  General  Editor  of  TJic  Cambridge  Bible  for 
ScJiools  thinks  it  right  to  say  that  he  does  not  hold 
himself  responsible  either  for  the  interpretation  of 
particular  passages  which  the  Editors  of  the  several 
Books  have  adopted,  or  for  any  opinion  on  points  of 
doctrine  that  they  may  have  expressed.  In  the  New 
Testament  more  especially  questions  arise  of  the 
deepest  theological  import,  on  which  the  ablest  and 
most  conscientious  interpreters  have  differed  and 
always  will  differ.  His  aim  has  been  in  all  such 
cases  to  leave  each  Contributor  to  the  unfettered 
exercise  of  his  own  judgment,  only  taking  care  that 
mere  controversy  should  as  far  as  possible  be  avoided. 
He  has  contented  himself  chiefly  with  a  careful 
revision  of  the  notes,  with  pointing  out  omissions,  with 

11048i.4  * 


6  PREFACE. 

suggesting  occasionally  a  reconsideration  of  some 
question,  or  a  fuller  treatment  of  difficult  passages, 
and  the  like. 

Beyond  this  he  has  not  attempted  to  interfere, 
feeling  it  better  that  each  Commentary  should  have 
its  own  individual  character,  and  being  convinced 
that  freshness  and  variety  of  treatment  are  more 
than  a  compensation  for  any  lack  of  uniformity  in 
the  Series. 

Deanery,  Peterborough. 


CONTENTS. 


II. 


PAGES 

Introduction. 

Chapter      I.     Contents  of  the  Book ix — xii 

Chapter    II.     The  nature  of  the  Composition xiii — xxii 

Chapter  III.     The  Idea  and  Purpose  of  the  Book  xxiii — xxix 

Chapter  IV.     The  Integrity  of  the  Book xxix — liv 

Chapter     V.     The  Age  and  Authorship  of  Job  ...  Iv — Ixviii 

Text  and  Notes  i — 290 

Appendix. 

Additional  Note  on  ch.  xix.  23 — 27   291 — 6 

Index    297 — 300 


The  Text  adopted  in  this  Edition  is  that  of  Dr  Scrivener's 
Cambridge  Paragraph  Bible.  A  few  variations  from  the  ordi- 
nary Text,  chiefly  in  the  spelling  of  certain  words,  and  in  the 
use  of  italics,  will  be  noticed.  For  the  principles  adopted  by 
Dr  Scrivener  as  regards  the  printing  of  the  Text  see  his  In- 
troduction to  the  Paragraph  Bible,  published  by  the  Cambridge 
University  Press. 


b2 


INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Contents  of  the  Book. 

The  Book  of  Job  is  so  called  from  the  name  of  the  man  whose 
history  and  afflictions  and  sayings  form  the  subject  of  it.  As  it 
now  lies  before  us  it  consists  of  five  parts: — 

I.  The  prologue,  written  in  prose,  ch.  i, — ii.  This  introduces 
to  us  a  man  named  Job,  living  in  the  land  of  Uz ;  and  describes 
in  rapid  and  dramatic  touches  his  piety  and  wealth  and  the  suc- 
cessive and  extraordinary  calamities  that  befell  him.  This  man 
was  "perfect  and  upright,  and  one  that  feared  God,  and  eschew- 
ed evil" ;  and  his  piety  was  reflected  in  the  great  prosperity  that 
attended  him,  in  his  family  felicity  and  wide  possessions.  A 
trait  from  his  ordinary  life  is  given  which  illustrates  the  happi- 
ness and  affection  to  one  another  of  his  children,  and  the  father's 
scrupulous  godliness  (ch.  i.  i — 5).  Then  the  narrative  describes 
how  the  disinterestedness  of  Job's  piety  was  called  in  question 
in  the  Council  of  Heaven  by  the  Satan,  or  Adversary,  that 
one  of  God's  ministers  whose  office  is  to  try  the  sincerity  of  men, 
and  oppose  them  in  their  pretensions  to  a  right  standing  before 
God.  This  angel  insinuated  that  Job's  religion  was  insincere, 
and  only  the  natural  return  for  the  unprecedented  blessings 
showered  on  him  by  God  ;  if  these  blessings  were  withdrawn  he 
would  disown  God  to  his  face.  The  Satan  receives  permission 
to  afflict  Job,  with  the  reservation  that  he  must  not  touch  him 
in  his  person.  In  one  day  Job  is  stripped  of  all  his  possessions 
and  bereaved  of  his  children :  robber  hordes  carry  away  his 
asses  and  camels,  and  slay  his  servants  with  the  sword ;  the  fire 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  heaven  falls  on  his  flocks  and  consumes  them ;  and  his  children 
are  buried  beneath  the  ruins  of  the  house  where  they  were 
feasting.  When  the  calamitous  tidings  are  brought  to  him,  Job 
manifests  the  liveliest  tokens  of  grief,  but  his  reverent  submission 
to  God  remains  unshaken — "In  all  this  Job  sinned  not  nor 
ascribed  wrong  to  God"  (ch.  i.  6 — 22). 

Again  the  heavenly  Council  convenes,  and  again  the  Satan 
is  present.  The  Lord  speaks  of  His  servant  Job  with  approval 
and  with  compassion,  and  upbraids  the  Adversary  with  insti- 
gating Him  to  bring  undeserved  suffering  upon  him.  The 
Satan's  answer  is  ready:  the  trial  did  not  touch  Job  close 
enough ;  let  the  hand  of  God  touch  him  in  his  own  bone  and 
flesh  and  he  will  disown  Him  to  His  face.  The  Adversary 
receives  permission  to  afflict  Job  himself,  with  the  reservation 
that  he  shall  spare  his  life.  Straightway  Job  is  smitten  with  sore 
boils,  the  leprosy  called  Elephantiasis;  and  he  flings  himself 
down  among  the  ashes,  taking  a  potsherd  to  scrape  himself 
withal.  The  deeper  affliction  only  reveals  greater  deeps  in  Job's 
reverent  piety.  In  his  former  trial  he  blessed  God  who  took 
away  the  good  He  had  added  to  naked  man ;  this  was  strictly 
no  evil :  now  he  bows  beneath  His  hand  when  He  inflicts  positive 
evil :  "We  receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not 
also  receive  evil?"  In  all  this  Job  sinned  not  with  his  lips: 
he  let  no  sinful  murmur  against  God  escape  him  (ch.  ii.  i — 10). 

Then  the  narrative  informs  us  how  Job's  three  friends, 
Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and  Zophar  the 
Naamathite,  having  heard  of  his  great  misfortunes,  come  to 
condole  with  him.  They  are  struck  dumb  at  the  sight  of  his 
terrible  calamity,  and  sit  with  him  upon  the  ground  seven  days 
and  seven  nights,  none  of  them  speaking  a  word.  Moved  by 
the  presence  and  the  sympathising  gestures  of  his  friends,  Job 
loses  his  self-control,  and  breaks  out  into  a  passionate  cry  foi 
death  (ch.  ii.  11 — ch.  iii.). 

2.  The  debate  between  Job  and  his  friends,  ch.  iv. — xxxi., 
written  in  poetry.  This  comprises  a  series  of  speeches  in  which 
the  problem  of  Job's  afflictions,  and  the  relation  of  external  evil 
to   the   righteousness   of  God   and   the   conduct  of  men,   are 


INTRODUCTION. 


brilliantly  discussed.  The  theory  of  the  friends  is  that  affliction 
implies  previous  sin  on  the  part  of  the  sufferer,  though  in  the 
case  of  a  good  man  such  as  Job  it  is  chastisement  meant  to 
wean  him  from  evil  still  cleaving  to  him ;  and  they  exhort  him 
to  repentance,  and  hold  up  a  bright  future  before  him.  Job 
denies  that  his  sufferings  are  due  to  sin,  of  which  he  is  innocent ; 
God  wrongly  holds  him  guilty  and  afflicts  him.  And,  taught  by 
his  own  history,  he  is  led  to  look  more  narrowly  at  the  course  of 
providence  in  the  world,  and  he  fails  to  perceive  that  inseparable 
connexion  in  every  instance  between  sin  and  suffering  which  the 
three  friends  insisted  on  :  the  providence  of  God  is  not  in  fact 
administered  on  such  a  principle.  The  discussion  between  Job 
and  his  friends  consists  of  three  circles  of  speeches,  (i)  ch.  iv. — 
xiv. ;  (2)  ch.  XV. — xxi. ;  and  (3)  ch.  xxii. — xxxi.  Each  of  these 
three  circles  comprises  six  speeches,  one  by  each  of  the  three 
friends  in  succession,  with  a  reply  from  Job.  In  the  last  round, 
however,  Zophar,  the  third  speaker,  fails  to  come  forward. 
This  is  a  confession  of  defeat ;  and  Job,  left  victor  in  the  strife, 
resumes  his  "parable,"  and  carries  it  through  a  series  of  chapters, 
in  which,  with  a  profound  pathos,  he  contrasts  his  former  great- 
ness with  his  present  humiliation,  protests  before  heaven  his 
innocence  of  all  the  offences  that  have  been  insinuated  or  may  be 
suggested  against  him,  and  adjures  God  to  reveal  to  him  the 
cause  of  his  afflictions. 

3.  The  speeches  of  Elihu,  ch.  xxxii. — xxxvii.  A  youthful 
bystander,  named  Elihu,  who  had  been  a  silent  listener  to  the 
debate  hitherto,  here  intervenes,  not  without  manifold  apologies 
for  presuming  to  let  his  voice  be  heard  in  the  midst  of  such  wise 
and  venerable  counsellers,  and  expresses  his  dissatisfaction 
both  with  Job  and  his  friends.  He  is  shocked  at  Job's  impious 
demeanour  and  the  charges  which  he  has  made  against  God, 
and  indignant  with  the  three  friends  because  they  have  allowed 
themselves  to  be  brought  to  silence  by  Job,  and  failed  to  bring 
home  to  him  the  wrong  against  God  of  which  he  has  been 
guilty.  Job  ought  not  to  have  been  allowed  to  carry  off  the 
victory:  he  may  be  shewn  to  be  in  the  wrong,  though  with 
different  arguments  from  those  employed  by  the  three  friends. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Elihu  then  in  a  long  discourse  expresses  his  abhorrence  of  the 
sentiments  uttered  by  Job,  controverts  his  views  in  regard  to 
God's  providence  and  the  meaning  of  afflictions,  and  on  this 
latter  point  suggests  a  theory  in  some  respects  different  from 
that  advanced  by  Job's  friends. 

4.  The  speeches  of  the  Lord  out  of  tlie  storm,  ch.  xxxviii. 
— xlii.  6.  In  answer  to  Job's  repeated  demand  that  God  would 
appear  and  solve  the  riddle  of  his  life,  the  Lord  answers  Job  out 
of  the  storm.  The  answer  is  altogether  unlike  what  Job  had 
expected.  The  divine  speaker  does  not  condescend  to  refer  to 
Job's  individual  problem,  He  makes  no  charge  of  sin  against 
his  former  life,  and  gives  no  account  of  his  afflictions.  The 
intellectual  solution  of  problems  can  never  be  the  question 
between  Jehovah  and  His  servants ;  the  question  is  the  state  of 
their  hearts  towards  Himself.  He  asks  of  Job,  "Who  am  I?" 
and  "What  art  thou?"  In  a  series  of  splendid  pictures  from 
inanimate  creation  and  the  world  of  animal  life  He  makes  all 
the  glory  of  His  Being  to  pass  before  Job.  Job  is  humbled  and 
lays  his  hand  upon  his  mouth  in  silence;  such  thoughts  of  God 
as  he  had  never  had  before  fill  his  heart ;  his  former  knowledge 
of  Him  was  like  that  learned  from  hearsay,  dim  and  imperfect, 
now  he  saw  Him  eye  to  eye,  and  he  repents  his  former  words 
and  demeanour  in  dust  and  ashes. 

5.  The  epilogue,  also  in  prose,  ch.  xlii.  7 — 17.  This  de- 
scribes how  Job,  having  thus  humbled  himself  before  God,  is 
restored  to  a  prosperity  double  that  which  he  enjoyed  before ; 
his  former  friends  and  acquaintances  again  gather  around  him  ; 
he  is  anew  blessed  with  children ;  and  dies,  old  and  full  of 
days. 

With  the  exception  of  the  discourses  of  Elihu,  the  connexion 
of  which  with  the  Poem  in  its  original  form  may  be  liable  to 
doubt,  all  these  five  parts  appear  essential  elements  of  the 
work  as  it  came  from  the  hand  of  the  author,  although  it  is 
possible  that  the  second  and  fourth  divisions  may  betray  in 
some  parts  traces  of  expansion  by  later  writers. 


INTRODUCTION. 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Nature  of  the  Composition. 

Under  tlie  enquiry  as  to  the  nature  of  the  composition  two 
questions  may  be  embraced:  (i)  the  question,  Is  the  Book 
historical,  or  is  it  a  pure  creation  of  the  mind  of  the  writer? 
and  (2)  the  question,  To  what  class  of  literature  does  the  Poem 
belong?  may  we  call  it  a  drama,  or  assign  it  to  any  understood 
class  of  writing? 

On  the  former  question  various  opmions  have  prevailed  and 
are  still  entertained,  (i)  The  Book  has  been  considered  by 
some  to  be  strictly  historical,  both  in  the  narrative  and  poetical 
portions.  (2)  Others  have  maintained  a  view  directly  opposed, 
regarding  the  work  as  wholly  unhistorical  and  in  all  its  parts  a 
creation  of  the  Poet's  mind,  and  written  with  a  didactic  purpose. 
(3)  And  a  third  class  assumes  a  middle  position  between  these 
two  extremes,  considering  that,  though  mainly  a  creation  of 
the  author's  own  mind,  the  Poem  reposes  on  a  historical  tradi- 
tion, which  the  writer  adopted  as  suitable  for  his  moral  purpose, 
and  the  outline  of  which  he  has  preserved. 

Among  the  Jews  in  early  times  the  Book  appears  to  have 
been  considered  strictly  historical.  This  was  probably  the 
opinion  of  Josephus,  who,  though  he  does  not  quote  Job  in  any 
of  his  works  ^,  appears  to  embrace  it  among  the  thirteen  pro- 
phetical books  forming  one  division  of  his  Canon 2,  The  same 
was  the  generally  received  opinion  among  the  Rabbinical 
writers.  There  were  exceptions,  however,  even  anterior  to  the 
age  of  the  Talmud.  A  certain  Rabbi  Resh  Lakish  sitting  in  the 
school  before  Samuel  bar  Nachmani  gave  expression  to  the 
opinion  that  "a  Job  existed  not,  and  was  not  created;  he  is  a 
parable."     To   this   Bar   Nachmani   replied,    "Saith    not    the 

1  Bleek,  Introduction,  ii.  p.  309.  ^  Contra  Apion.  i.  18. 


INTRODUCTION. 


scripture,  There  was  a  man  in  the  land  of  Uz,  whose  name 
was  Job?"  Resh  Lakish  answered,  "But  how  is  it  then  with 
that  place  2  Sam.  xii.  3,  The  poor  man  had  nothing,  save  one 
little  ewe-lamb  which  he  had  bought,  &c.?  What  is  that  but  a 
common  similitude?  and  so  Job  is  a  simple  parable."  Bar 
Nachmani  could  but  reply  that  not  only  the  name  of  Job  but 
that  of  his  country  was  mentioned,  an  answer  that  probably  did 
not  go  far  to  convince  his  opponent  ^  Resh  Lakish  was  most 
likely  not  alone  in  his  opinion,  though  his  view  appears  to  have 
given  scandal  to  others.  A  later  scholar.  Rabbi  Hai,  the  last 
who  bore  the  title  of  Gaon  (died  1037),  maintains  that  the 
Talmudic  passage  reads,  "Job  existed  not  and  was  not  created 
except  in  order  to  be  a  parable  (or  type,  i.e.  a  model  to  the 
children  of  men),  for  that  he  actually  existed  the  passage  of 
scripture  proves"  (Ezek.  xiv.  14)  2.  With  this  view  Rashi  agrees, 
and  Ibn  Ezra  in  the  beginning  of  his  commentary  refers  to  the 
passage  in  Ezekiel  as  evidence  that  Job  was  a  real  person. 
Maimonides  (died  1204)  refers  to  the  difference  of  opinion 
existing  on  the  question  whether  Job  was  "created,"  that  is, 
was  a  real  person,  and  advances  the  opinion  that  "he  is  a 
parable  meant  to  exhibit  the  views  of  mankind  in  regard  to 
providence^."  The  historical  existence  of  Job  appears  thus  to 
have  been  to  some  extent  an  open  question  among  the  Jewish 
scholars,  though  probably  up  to  recent  times  the  belief  that  the 
Book  was  strictly  historical  continued  to  be  the  prevailing  one. 

The  same  appears  to  have  been  the  general  view  of  Christian 
writers  up  till  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  when  Luther  with 
his  usual  freedom  and  sound  instincts  expressed  another  opinion. 
The  Reformer  was  far  from  denying  the  existence  of  Job  him- 
self, nor  did  he  doubt  that  there  was  history  in  the  Book;  it  was 
histor}^,  however,  poetically  idealised.  In  his  Table-talk  he 
expresses  himself  to  that  effect:  "I  hold  the  Book  of  Job  to  be 
real  history;  but  that  everything  so  happened  and  was  so  done 
I   do  not  believe,  but  think  that  some  ingenious,  pious  and 

1  Talmud,  Baba  Bathra,  fol.  15,  in  Magnus,  Comm.  on  Job,  p.  2i;S, 
-  Ewald  and  Dukes,  Beifrdge,  ii.  p.  166. 
^  March  Ncvochim,  part  iii.  ch.  ■22. 


INTRODUCTION. 


learned  man  composed  it  as  it  is^"  Even  during  the  preceding 
centuries  some  dissentient  voices  had  let  themselves  be  heard. 
More  than  a  thousand  years  before  Luther's  day  a  much  freer 
judgment  than  his  had  been  passed  upon  the  Book  by  Theodore 
bishop  of  Mopsuestia  in  Cilicia  (died  428),  a  great  name  in  the 
Antiochean  school  of  Exegesis,  and  a  man  who  resembled 
Luther  in  some  points,  especially  his  free  handling  of  the  Canon, 
though  he  was  without  the  Reformer's  geniality  and  sound 
hermeneutical  instincts.  Theodore,  equally  with  Luther,  be- 
lieved in  the  existence  of  Job  himself,  but  he  regarded  the 
Book  as  a  fiction,  written  in  imitation  of  the  dramas  of  the 
heathen  by  an  author  familiar  with  the  Greek  wisdom,  and 
nothing  short  of  a  slander  upon  the  godly  Patriarch.  The 
dialogue  between  the  Almighty  and  Satan  in  the  Prologue  gave 
offence  to  Theodore ;  but  much  worse  was  what  he  found  in  the 
Epilogue,  where  according  to  the  Sept.,  from  which  alone  the 
bishop  derived  his  knowledge  of  the  Book,  Job  names  his  third 
daughter  "Horn  of  Amalthea"  (see  on  ch.  xlii.  14).  Such  a 
name  must  have  been  invented  by  the  author  of  the  Book  from 
love  to  the  heathen  mythology,  for  what  could  an  Idumean  like 
Job  know  of  Jupiter  and  Juno  and  the  heathen  gods?  And  if 
he  had  known  would  he  have  bestowed  upon  a  child  given  him 
in  such  circumstances  by  God  a  name  borrowed  from  the  history 
of  the  deities  of  Greece,  or  thought  it  any  distinction  to  her? 
The  whole  cast  of  the  Book,  however,  gave  offence  to  Theodore, 
as  injurious  to  Job,  a  godly  man  whose  history  was  in  every 
mouth  and  known  far  beyond  the  borders  of  Israel,  and  whose 
fame  the  Prophet  (Ezekiel)  had  further  enhanced.  Hence  he 
condemned  alike  the  irreverent  language  put  into  Job's  mouth, 
the  unjust  attacks  made  on  him  by  his  friends,  and  the  injurious 
and  insulting  speeches  of  Elihu.  The  whole,  in  his  opinion, 
gave  a  distorted  view  of  Job's  character,  detracted  from  the 
moral  value  of  his  history,  and  gave  occasion  to  blame  not  only 
the  pious  sufferer  but  also  the  Book^.     Theodore,  though  not 

^   Works,  Walch,  xxii.  p.  log^.     The  passage  appears  to  exist  under 
various  forms. 

^  Kihn,  Theodor  vojt  Mopsuestia,  p.  68  ser/. 


INTRODUCTION. 


without  insight,  as  his  rejection  of  the  headings  to  the  Psahns 
indicates,  was  apt  to  be  hasty  and  narrow  in  his  judgments. 
His  views  naturally  compelled  him  to  remove  the  Book  of  Job 
from  the  Canon.  Though  condemned  as  a  heretic  after  his 
death,  the  censure  does  not  seem  to  have  fallen  upon  him  for 
his  critical  opinions ;  he  fell  under  suspicion  from  his  exegetical 
writings,  in  which  the  seeds  of  the  Ncstorian  heresy  were  detected, 
as  some  of  the  chief  adherents  of  that  error  were  his  pupils  and 
friends. 

The  comparatively  free  judgment  of  Luther  regarding  the 
Book  naturally  gave  a  handle. to  the  Catholics  which  they  were 
not  slow  to  seize,  and  was  not  appreciated  by  Protestant  writers 
in  the  succeeding  ages.  In  his  Commentary  concerning  the 
Antiquity,  &c.  of  the  History  of  Job  (1670)  Fred.  Spanheim 
maintains  that  if  Job  be  not  history  it  is  a  fraud  of  the  writer, 
111  historia  sit,  fraus  scriptoris.  Such  a  judgment  would  con- 
demn as  wilful  frauds  not  only  the  majority  of  modern  composi- 
tions but  the  dramas  and  parabolic  writings  of  all  ages.  It  is 
hard  to  see  even  how  an  exxeption  could  be  made  in  favour  of 
the  parables  of  our  Lord.  Happily  a  juster  conception  of  the 
nature  of  scripture  now  prevails,  and  we  are  prepared  to  find  in 
it  any  form  of  literary  composition  which  it  is  natural  for  men 
to  employ.  The  view  of  Spanheim  was  shared  by  Albert 
Schultens,  and  defended  by  him  in  various  writings,  particularly 
in  his  great  Commentary  on  Job  (1736).  Schultens  was  pre- 
pared to  accept  even  the  speeches  of  Job  and  his  friends  as 
literal  transcriptions  of  what  was  said,  appealing  to  the  remark- 
able skill  in  improvising  at  all  times  exhibited  by  the  Arabs  and 
other  Eastern  peoples.  The  same  opinion  was  maintained  by 
J.  H.  Michaelis,  professor  at  Halle  (died  1738).  According  to 
him  Job  was  descended  from  Nahor,  and  everything  narrated  in 
the  Book  is  literal  history,  as  taught  in  James  v.  11 — notwith- 
standing the  Talmud,  the  Rabbins  and  Luther.  The  Patriarch 
lived  between  the  death  of  Joseph  and  the  Exodus  ;  and  the 
Book  was  written  by  Moses  in  Midian^ 

'  Adiiotationes  in  Ha^o.^.  Vet.   Test.  Libras,  vol.  ii.  p.  5  secj. ;  comp. 
Dicbtcl,  /Jis/.  of  the  0.  T.  in  the  Christian  Chuirh,  p.  417. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Yet  even  those  times  were  not  left  without  a  witness  in 
favour  of  different  views.  Grotius  (died  1645)  reproduced  the 
opinion  of  Luther  that  the  history  in  Job  was  poetically  handled, 
res  vere  gesta,  scd  poetice  tractata.  And  another  Michaelis, 
John  David,  grand  nephew  of  John  Henry  and  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  his  name,  professor  of  Oriental  Languages  at 
Goettingen  (1750),  expressed  a  judgment  regarding  Job  very 
different  from  that  of  his  older  relative,  and  one  which  shews 
that  critical  opinions  are  scarcely  subject  to  the  law  of  heredity. 
According  to  him  Job  is  a  pure  poetical  creation  :  "  I  feel  very 
little  doubt  that  the  subject  of  the  poem  is  altogether  fabulous, 
and  designed  to  teach  us  that  '  the  rewards  of  virtue  being  in 
another  state,  it  is  very  possible  for  the  good  to  suffer  afflictions 
in  this  life ;  but  that,  when  it  so  happens,  it  is  permitted  by 
Providence  for  the  wisest  reasons,  though  they  may  not  be 
obvious  to  human  eyes\'"  The  rise  in  this  age  of  the  critical 
spirit,  which  indeed  had  been  partially  awakened  to  life  in  the 
preceding  century  by  the  publication  of  Richard  Simon's  Critical 
History  of  the  Old  Testament  (1678),  naturally  led  to  free 
discussion  of  the  Book  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  compara- 
tively unanimous  verdict  regarding  it  of  modern  times.  The 
history  of  this  discussion  need  not  be  pursued  here.  There  are 
perhaps  few  scholars  now  who  consider  the  Book  strictly 
historical  in  all  its  parts.  The  prevailing  view,  which  is  no 
doubt  just,  is  that  it  reposes  on  a  historical  tradition,  which  the 
author  has  used  and  embellished,  and  made  the  vehicle  for 
conveying  the  moral  instruction  which  it  was  his  object  to 
teach.  There  are  still  some,  however,  who  regard  the  Poem 
as  wholly  the  creation  of  the  author's  invention  ;  and  this  view 
is  not  confined  to  any  critical  school,  for  it  numbers  among  its 
adherents  men  so  widely  apart  from  one  another  in  their  critical 
positions  as  Hengstenberg  and  Reuss. 

That  the  Book  is  not  literal  history  appears,  (i)  from  the 


^  See  his  note  in  Giegory's  Trans,  of  I.owth  on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of 
the  Hebrews,  Lect.  32.  Lowth  himself  (1753)  adhered  to  the  view  of 
Luther  and  Grotius. 


INTRODUCTION. 


scenes  in  heaven  exhibited  in  the  Prologue  (ch.  i.,  ii.),  and  from 
the  lengthy  speeches  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  Almighty  (ch. 
xxxviii.  seq.).  (2)  From  the  symbolical  numbers  three  and  seven 
used  to  describe  Job's  flocks  and  his  children  ;  and  from  the 
fact  that  his  possessions  arc  exactly  doubled  to  him  on  his 
restoration,  while  he  receives  again  seven  sons  and  three  daughters 
precisely  as  before.  (3)  From  the  dramatic  and  ideal  nature 
of  the  account  of  the  incidence  of  Job's  calamities  (ch.  i.  i2,scq.), 
where  the  forces  of  nature  and  the  violence  of  men  alternate  in 
bringing  ruin  upon  him,  and  in  each  case  only  one  escapes 
to  tell  the  tidings.  (4)  From  the  nature  of  the  debate  between 
Job  and  his  friends.  Both  the  thought  and  the  highly-wrought 
imagery  of  the  speeches  shew  that,  so  far  from  possibly  being 
the  extemporaneous  utterances  of  three  or  four  persons  casually 
brought  together,  they  could  only  be  the  leisurely  production  of 
a  writer  of  the  highest  genius. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that  the  Book  is  not  wholly 
poetical  invention,  but  that  it  reposes  upon  a  historical  tradition, 
some  of  the  elements  of  which  it  has  preserved,  (i)  The  allusion 
of  the  prophet  Ezekiel  to  Job,  where  he  mentions  Noah,  Daniel 
and  Job  (ch.  xiv.  14),  appears  to  be  to  a  tradition  regarding  him 
rather  than  to  the  present  Book.  The  prophet's  knowledge  of 
Daniel  must  have  been  derived  from  hearsay,  for  the  present 
book  of  that  name  cannot  have  been  known  to  him.  And  the 
manner  of  his  allusion  suggests  that  the  fame  for  piety  of  the 
three  men  whom  he  names  was  traditional  and  widely  celebrated. 

(2)  Pure  literary  invention  on  so  large  a  scale  is  scarcely  to  be 
looked  for  so  early  in  Israel.  Even  considerably  later  the 
author  of  Ecclesiastes  attaches  his  work  to  the  name  of  Solomon ; 
and  later  still  the  author  of  the  book  of  Wisdom  does  the  same. 

(3)  The  author  of  Job  has  a  practical  object  in  view.  He  does 
not  occupy  himself  with  discussing  theories  of  providence  that 
have  only  philosophic  interest.  He  desires  to  influence  the 
thought  and  the  conduct  of  his  generation.  And  this  object 
would  certainly  have  been  better  gained  by  making  use  of  some 
history  that  lay  slumbering  in  the  popular  mind,  the  lesson 
of  which,  when  the  story  was  awakened  and  set  living  before 


INTRODUCTION. 


men,  would  commend  itself  more  to  the  mind  from  not  being 
altogether  unfamiliar. 

When  we  enquire,  however,  what  elements  of  the  Book 
really  belong  to  the  tradition,  a  definite  answer  can  hardly  be 
given.  A  tradition  could  scarcely  exist  which  did  not  contain 
the  name  of  the  hero,  and  the  name  "Job"  is  no  doubt  historical. 
A  mere  name,  however,  could  not  be  handed  down  without  some 
circumstances  connected  with  it ;  and  we  may  assume  that  the 
outline  of  the  tradition  included  Job's  great  prosperity,  the 
unparalleled  afflictions  that  befell  him,  and  possibly  also  his 
restoration.  Whether  more  was  embraced  may  be  uncertain. 
A  vague  report  may  have  floated  down  that  the  mystery  of  Job's 
sufferings  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Wise  of  his  country  and 
formed  the  subject  of  discussion.  It  may  also  be  argued  that  no 
reason  can  be  suggested  for  making  Uzthe  country  of  Job  unless 
there  was  a  tradition  to  that  effect  ;  and  that  the  names  of  his 
friends,  having  nothing  symbolical  in  them,  must  also  belong  to 
the  story.  This  is  doubtful.  Eliphaz  is  an  old  Idumean  name, 
and  Teman  was  famed  for  wisdom  ;  and  "Eliphaz  of  Teman" 
might  suggest  literary  combination.  The  other  two  names,  not 
occurring  again,  do  not  awaken  the  same  suspicions.  They 
might  be  part  of  the  tradition  ;  but  it  is  equally  possible  that 
they  are  names  which  the  author  had  heard  among  the  tribes 
outside  of  Israel.  Even  more  liable  to  doubt  is  the  episode  of 
Job's  wife,  and  the  malady  under  which  the  Patriarch  suffered. 
We  can  observe  three  threads  running  through  the  Book.  One 
is  that  of  the  original  tradition  ;  another  is  the  poetical  em- 
bellishment of  this  tradition  in  the  Prologue  and  Epilogue,  Job 
being  still  treated  as  an  individual.  To  this  belong,  for  example, 
the  names  of  Job's  daughters,  a  touch  of  singular  geniality  from 
the  hand  of  a  writer  who  employs  such  sombre  colours  in  the 
rest  of  the  Book,  and  shewing  that  though  crushed  under  the 
sorrows  of  his  time  he  was  not  incapable  on  occasions  of  rising 
above  them.  In  many  places,  however.  Job  appears  to  outgrow 
the  limits  of  individual  life  ;  his  mind  and  language  reflect  the 
situation  and  feelings  of  a  class,  or  even  of  a  people.  He  is  the 
type  either  of  the  class  of  suffering  righteous  men,  or  of  that 


INTRODUCTION. 


afflicted,  godly  kernel  of  the  people  (Is.  vi.  13),  to  which  the 
nationality  of  Israel  was  felt  still  to  adhere,  and  which  is  known 
in  the  Exile  under  the  name  of  the  Servant  of  the  Lord.  The 
history  of  this  suffering  remnant  under  the  trials  of  the  Exile  has 
not  been  written  ;  but  that  it  had  a  history,  marked  by  great 
trials  and  great  faith,  commanding  the  attention  and  kindling 
the  enthusiasm  of  prophetic  men,  appears  abundantly  from  the 
latter  part  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  with  any 
certainty  to  which  of  these  three  elements  any  particular  episode 
or  point  in  the  Book  ought  to  be  referred.  The  story  of  Job's 
wife  may  be  thought  to  be  just  the  kind  of  trait  which  the  popular 
imagination  would  retain,  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  which 
it  would  invent ;  the  inference  being  that  it  should  be  considered 
part  of  the  tradition.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  her 
falling  away  under  her  sorrows  may  be  but  the  reflection  of  the 
apostasy  of  many  of  the  people  under  their  trials,  the  sight  of 
which  put  so  severe  a  strain  upon  the  faith  of  those  still  remain- 
ing true.  And  when  we  read  in  Deuteronomy,  "  The  Lord  will 
smite  thee  with  the  botch  of  Egypt. ..the  Lord  shall  smite  thee 
in  the  knees  and  in  the  legs,  with  a  sore  botch  that  cannot  be 
healed,  from  the  sole  of  thy  foot  unto  the  top  of  thy  head " 
(ch.  xxviii.  27,  35),  and  then  in  Job  that  Satan  "went  forth  and 
smote  Job  with  sore  boils,  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his 
crown"  (ch.  ii.  7);  and  when  further  we  find  in  Isaiah  (ch. 
lii.— liii.)  the  Servant  of  the  Lord  represented  as  afflicted  with 
leprous  defilement,  the  impression  can  hardly  be  resisted  that 
the  three  representations  are  connected  together.  Even  in 
Deuteronomy  the  threat  has  ideal  elements  in  it ;  in  the  Prophet 
the  representation  becomes  wholly  ideal;  and  the  same  is 
probably  the  case  also  in  the  Poet.  In  Deuteronomy  the  subject 
threatened  is  the  people  of  Israel ;  in  Isaiah  the  subject  is  the 
same,  though  with  the  modifications  which  history  since  the 
Exile  had  introduced,  being  the  godly  kernel  of  the  people  in 
captivity,  to  which  the  nationality  and  name  and  idea  of  Israel 
still  belonged.  And  though  we  may  not  go  so  far  as  to  say  that 
Job  is  Israel  or  the  Servant  of  the  Lord  under  another  name,  it 
can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  sufferings  of  Israel  are  reflected 


INTRODUCTION. 


in  those  of  Job,  and  that  the  author  designed  that  the  people 
should  see  their  own  features  in  his,  and  from  his  history  forecast 
the  issue  of  their  own.  These  are  considerations  that  make  us 
hesitate  to  regard  Job's  malady  as  part  of  the  tradition  regarding 
him,  even  though  that  view  be  supported  by  names  so  dis- 
tinguished as  that  of  Ewald. 

The  Book  of  Job  has  been  called  an  Epic  by  some,  by  others 
a  Drama,  or  more  specifically  a  Tragedy,  and  by  others  still  a 
Didactic  Poem.  That  the  Poem  has  a  didactic  purpose  is 
unquestionable.  It  is  equally  evident  that  it  contains  many 
elements  of  the  drama,  such  as  dialogue,  and  a  plot  with  an 
entanglement,  development  and  solution.  The  action,  however, 
is  internal  and  mental,  and  the  successive  scenes  are  representa- 
tions of  the  varying  moods  of  a  great  soul  struggling  with  the 
mysteries  of  its  fate,  rather  than  trying  external  situations. 
Much  in  the  action  may  rightly  be  called  tragic,  but  the  happy 
conclusion  is  at  variance  with  the  conception  of  a  proper  tragedy. 
Any  idea  of  representing  his  work  on  a  stage  never  crossed  the 
author's  mind ;  his  object  was  to  instruct  his  countrymen  and 
inspire  them  with  hope  in  the  future,  and  it  is  nothing  to  him 
that  he  detracts  from  the  artistic  effect  of  his  work  by  revealing 
beforehand  in  the  Prologue  the  real  cause  of  Job's  afflictions, 
the  problem  which  is  the  subject  of  the  dialogue,  and  the  cause 
of  the  successive  tragic  phases  of  Job's  feeling,  in  which  the 
action  chiefly  consists.  A  more  skilful  artist  according  to 
western  ideas  inight  have  concealed  the  explanation  of  Job's 
afflictions  till  the  end,  allowing  it  to  transpire  perhaps  in  the 
speeches  of  the  Almighty.  If  he  had  allowed  God  to  explain  to 
Job  the  meaning  of  the  suff"erings  with  which  He  afflicted  him, 
whatever  addition  to  his  literary  renown  he  might  have  won,  the 
author  would  have  shewn  himself  much  less  wise  and  true  as  a 
religious  teacher,  for  the  experience  of  men  tells  them  that  they 
do  not  reach  religious  peace  through  the  theoretical  solution  of 
the  problems  of  providence  ;  the  theoretical  solution  comes  later, 
if  it  comes  at  all,  through  their  own  reflection  upon  their  history 
and  the  way  in  which  God  has  led  them.  And  if  Job  ever  knew 
the  meaning  of  his  afflictions  he  learned  it  in  this  way,  or  he 

JOB  c 


INTRODUCTION. 


learned  it  through  the  teaching  of  some  other  man  wiser  than 
himself,  as  we  have  learned  it  from  the  author  of  this  Book. 

The  Book  of  Job  can  hardly  be  named  a  drama,  though  it 
may  justly  be  called  dramatic.  The  dramatic  movement  is  seen 
in  the  varying  moods  of  Job's  mind,  and  in  his  attitude  towards 
Heaven.  The  dialogue  with  his  friends  partly  occasions  these 
moods  and  partly  exhibits  them.  The  progressive  advance  of 
the  debate,  however,  is  not  to  be  considered  as  constituting  the 
dramatic  action.  The  commencement,  culmination,  and  ex- 
haustion of  the  debate  do  not  run  parallel  with  the  rise,  the 
increase  and  climax,  and  the  comi^osure  of  Job's  perplexity  of 
mind  and  war  with  Heaven.  It  is  in  the  latter  that  the  dramatic 
movement  lies,  in  which  the  debate  is  a  mere  episode,  for  the 
state  of  Job's  mind,  twice  signalised  in  the  Prologue,  lies  before 
it,  and  the  perfect  composure  to  v.'hich  he  is  brought  by  the 
divine  speeches  lies  far  behind  it.  Such  a  representation  there- 
fore as  that  of  Delitzsch  can  hardly  be  accepted,  who  says  "the 
Book  of  Job  is  substantially  a  drama,  and  one  consisting  of 
seven  divisions:  (i)  ch.  i. — iii.,  the  opening;  (2)  ch.  iv, — xiv., 
the  iirst  course  of  the  controversy,  or  the  beginning  of  entangle- 
ment ;  (3)  ch.  XV — xxi.,  the  second  course  of  the  controversy,  or 
the  increasing  entanglement ;  (4)  ch.  xxii. — xxvi.,  the  third 
course  of  tiie  controversy,  or  the  increasing  entanglement  at  its 
highest ;  (5)  ch.  xxvii. — xxxi.,  the  transition  from  the  entangle- 
ment to  the  unravelling ;  (6)  ch.  xxxviii. — xlii.  6,  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  unravelling;  (7)  ch.  xlii.  7  scg.,  the  unravelling  in 
outward  reality".^  This  representation  confuses  two  things 
quite  distinct,  and  which  do  not  move  parallel  to  one  another, 
namely  the  gradual  thickening  of  the  conilict  between  Job  and  his 
friends,  ending  at  last  in  their  directly  imputing  heinous  offences 
to  him,  and  the  religious  tension  of  Job's  mind  under  his  trials. 
It  is  not  till  the  last  round  that  the  climax  of  the  debate  is 
reached  (ch.  xxii.),  but  the  perplexity  and  violence  of  Job  attain 
their  height  in  the  first  round  (ch.  ix. — x.).  Already  in  ch.  xiv. 
the  strain  is  considerably  relieved,  and  it  decreases  still  more  in 
the  speeches  culminating  in  ch.  xix.,  being  wholly  removed  by 
the  interposition  of  the  Almighty. 

^  Traits,  i.  p.  15. 


INTRODUCTION. 


CHAPTER  III. 
The  Idea  and  Purpose  of  the  Book. 

The  Book  of  Job,  as  we  possess  it,  conveys  the  impression 
that  it  is  a  finished  and  well-rounded  composition.  Its  form, 
Prologue,  Poem  and  Epilogue,  suggests  that  the  writer  had  a 
clear  idea  before  his  mind,  which  he  started,  developed  and 
brought  to  an  issue  in  a  way  satisfactory  to  himself.  The  Book 
has  not  the  appearance  of  a  mere  fragment,  or  what  might  be 
called  a  contribution  to  the  ventilation  of  a  great  problem,  on 
which  the  author  feels  that  he  has  something  that  may  be  useful 
to  say,  though  nothing  very  definite  or  final;  although  this  is  a 
view  of  the  Book  that  some  have  taken.  The  author  being 
assumed,  however,  to  have  a  distinct  idea,  this  idea  still  remains 
so  obscure,  and  the  question.  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  Book? 
has  been  answered  in  so  many  ways,  that  a  judgment  regarding 
it  must  be  put  forth  with  the  greatest  diffidence.  Almost  every 
theory  that  has  been  adopted  has  found  itself  in  collision  with 
one  or  more  of  the  parts  of  which  the  Book  now  consists,  and 
has  been  able  to  maintain  itself  only  by  sacrificing  these  parts 
upon  its  altar.  With  the  exception  of  the  speeches  of  Elihu 
there  is  no  great  division  of  the  Book  to  which  valid  objections 
can  be  made,  except  on  the  ground  that  it  does  not  harmonise 
with  the  idea  of  the  Poem.  The  Elihu  speeches  occupy  their 
right  place  between  the  discourses  of  the  friends  and  the  answer 
of  Jehovah.  They  maintain  the  ground  of  the  former,  though 
they  perhaps  advance  and  refine  upon  it ;  and  they  prepare  for 
the  speeches  of  the  Almighty,  being  the  expression  from  the 
reverent  religious  consciousness  of  man  of  that  which  the  Al- 
mighty expresses,  if  such  language  may  be  used,  from  His  own 
consciousness  of  Himself.  Whether,  therefore,  these  speeches  be 
held  original  or  considered  a  later  insertion  they  import  no  new 
principle  into  the  Book,  and  may  be  neglected  when  the  general 
conception  of  the  Poem  is  being  sought  for.  It  seems  fair,  how- 
ever, to  take  into  account  all  the  remaining  divisions  of  the  Book. 

cz 


INTRODUCTION. 


I.  Though  the  author  of  the  Book  does  not  identify  himself 
■with  Job,  whom,  on  the  contrary,  he  allows  to  assume  positions 
which  are  extreme,  and  to  utter  language  which  is  unbecoming, 
Job  is  undoubtedly  the  hero  of  the  piece,  and  in  the  sentiments 
which  he  expresses  and  the  history  which  he  passes  through 
combined,  we  may  assume  that  we  find  the  author  himself 
speaking  and  teaching.  Even  the  exaggerated  sentiments 
which  he  allows  Job  to  utter  are  not  to  be  considered  mere 
extravagances ;  they  arc  not  incoherencies  which  Job  flings  out 
in  one  line,  and  retracts  in  the  next ;  they  are  excesses,  which 
men  under  trials  such  as  he  suffered  are  driven  to  commit,  and 
with  which  the  author,  amidst  the  questionings  in  regard  to 
providence  which  the  terrible  sufterings  of  the  time  forced  on 
men,  was  no  doubt  too  familiar,  if  he  had  not  himself  perhaps 
fallen  into  them ;  and  as  we  observe  Job's  mind  gradually  and 
naturally  approaching  the  state  in  which  he  commits  them,  so 
we  see  it  naturally  recovering  its  balance  and  effecting  a  retreat. 
The  discussion  of  the  question  of  suffering  between  Job  and  his 
friends  runs  through  a  large  part  of  the  Book  (ch.  iv. — xxxi.), 
and  in  the  direction  which  the  author  causes  the  discussion  to 
take  we  may  see  revealed  one  of  the  chief  didactic  purposes  of 
the  Poem.  When  the  three  friends,  the  representatives  of 
former  theories  of  providence,  are  reduced  to  silence  and  driven 
off  the  ground  by  Job  (ch.  xxi..  xxiii.,  xxiv.),  we  may  assume 
that  it  was  the  authors  purpose  to  discredit  the  ideas  which 
they  support.  The  theory  that  sin  and  suffering  are  in  all  cases 
connected,  and  that  suffering  cannot  be  where  there  has  not 
been  previous  sin  to  account  for  the  measure  of  it,  is  a  theory  of 
providence  which  cannot  be  harmonised  with  the  facts  observed 
in  the  world.  Job  traverses  this  theory  on  both  its  sides.  He 
himself  is  an  instance  of  suffering  apart  from  previous  sin;  and 
the  world  is  full  of  examples  of  notoriously  wicked  men  prosper- 
ing and  being  free  from  trouble  till  the  day  of  their  death.  Job 
offers  no  positive  contribution  to  the  doctrine  of  evil;  his  posi- 
tion is  negative,  and  merely  antagonistic  to  that  of  his  friends. 
Now  without  doubt  in  all  this  he  is  the  mouthpiece  of  the  author 
of  the  Book. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Is  it  natural  now  to  suppose  that  the  author  contemplated 
only  this  negative  result?     Would  he  have  thought  his  task 
sufficiently  fulfilled  by  pulling  down  the  old  fabric  under  which 
men  had  found  friendly  shelter  and  comfort  for  ages,  and  strew- 
ing its  ruins  on  the  ground,  without  supplying  anything  in  its 
place,  beyond  perhaps  the  good  advice  which  he  is  supposed  to 
give  in  ch.  xxxviii.  scq.  ?     So  far  as  the  rest  of  the  Poem  is  con- 
cerned no  further  light  is  cast  on  the  question.     Job  is  left  in 
darkness,  and  the  divine  speeches  do  not  touch  the  point.     The 
author  exhibits  Job  reaching  the  conclusion  that  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,  as  he   in   common  with  his  friends   had   always 
understood  it,  cannot  be  detected  in  the  world  as  God  actually 
rules  it.     And  he  exhibits  the  terrible  perplexity  into  which  the 
discovery  threw  him.     To  miss  God's  righteousness  in  the  world 
was  equivalent  to  missing  it  in  God  Himself,  and  Job's  idea  of 
God  threatened  to  become  wholly  transformed.     He  is  filled 
with  terror  and  despair,  and  in  his  wrestling  with  the  question 
he  forces  his  way  across  the  confines  of  this  world,  and  first 
demands  (ch.  xiv.,  xvi. — xvii.)  and  then  assures  himself  (ch.  xix.) 
that,  if  not  in  his  life  here,  beyond  his  life  here,  God's  righteous- 
ness shall  be  manifested.     By  allowing  Job  to  rise  to  such  a 
thought  the  author  probably  meant  to  signalise  it  as  one  of  the 
solutions  to  which  men  or  himself  had  been  forced.     But  the 
time  was  not  yet  come,  and  the  darkness  that  overhung  all 
beyond  this  hfe  was  too  thick  for  men  to  find  repose  in  this 
great  thought.     Hence  Job  is  made  to  renew  his  demand  for  a 
solution  in  this  life  of  the  riddle  of  his  sufferings  (ch.  xxxi.  35— 
y]).     Does  then  the  author  offer  no  solution?     He  does  not,  and 
no  solution  is  offered  to  us,  unless  the  Prologue  supplies  it. 
This  passage,  however,  when  naturally  read,  teaches  that  Job's 
sufferings  were  the  trial  of  his  righteousness.     If  then  we  bring 
the  Prologue  and  the  debate  into  combination  we  perceive  that 
it  was  the  author's   purpose  to  widen   men's   views  of  God's 
providence,  and  to  set  before  them  a  new  view  of  suffering. 
With  great  skill  he  employs  Job  as  his  instrument  to  clear  the 
ground  of  the  old  theories,  and  he  himself  brings  forward  in 
their  place  his  new  truth,  that  sufferings  may  befall  the  innocent, 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  be  not  a  chastisement  for  their  sins  but  a  trial  of  their 
righteousness. 

This  may  be  considered  one  great  purpose  of  the  Book. 
This  purpose,  however,  was  in  all  probability  no  mere  theo- 
retical one,  but  subordinate  to  some  wider  practical  design. 
No  Hebrew  writer  is  merely  a  poet  or  thinker.  He  is  always  a 
teacher.  He  has  men  before  him  in  their  relations  to  God. 
And  it  is  not  usually  men  in  their  individual  relations,  but  as 
members  of  the  family  of  Israel,  the  people  of  God.  It  is  con- 
sequently scarcely  to  be  doubted  that  the  Book  has  a  national 
scope.  The  author  considered  his  new  truth  regarding  the 
meaning  of  affliction  as  of  national  interest,  and  to  be  the  truth 
needful  to  comfort  and  uphold  the  heart  of  his  people  in  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  were. 

2.  But  the  direct  teaching  of  the  Book  is  only  half  its  con- 
tents. It  presents  also  a  history — deep  and  inexplicable  affliction, 
a  great  moral  struggle,  and  a  victory.  Must  not  this  history  also 
be  designed  to  teach?  Is  it  not  a  kind  of  apologue  the  purpose 
of  which  is  to  inspire  new  conduct,  new  faith,  and  new  hopes? 
In  Job's  sufferings  undeserved  and  inexplicable  to  him,  yet 
capable  of  an  explanation  most  consistent  with  the  goodness 
and  faithfulness  of  God,  and  casting  honour  upon  His  faithful 
servants ;  in  his  despair  bordering  upon  apostasy,  at  last  over- 
come ;  in  the  higher  knowledge  of  God  and  deeper  humility  to 
which  he  attained,  and  in  the  happy  issue  of  his  afflictions — in 
all  these  Israel  may  see  itself,  and  from  the  sight  take  courage, 
and  forecast  its  own  history.  What  the  author  sets  before  his 
people  is  a  new  reading  of  their  history,  just  as  another  new 
reading  is  set  before  them  by  the  Prophet  in  the  latter  part  of 
Isaiah.  The  two  readings  are  different,  but  both  speak  to  the 
heart  of  the  people.  Job,  however,  is  scarcely  to  be  considered 
Israel,  under  a  feigned  name.  He  is  not  Israel,  though  Israel 
may  see  itself  and  its  history  reflected  in  him.  It  is  the  elements 
of  reality  in  his  history  common  to  him  with  Israel  in  affliction, 
common  even  to  him  with  humanity  as  a  whole,  confined  within 
ihe  straitened  limits  set  by  its  own  ignorance;  wounded  to 
death  by  the  mysterious  sorrows  of  life;   tortured  by  the  un- 


INTRODUCTION. 


certainty  whether  its  cry  finds  an  entrance  into  God's  ear; 
alarmed  and  paralysed  by  the  irreconcileable  discrepancies 
which  it  discovers  between  its  necessary  thoughts  of  Him  and 
its  experience  of  Him  in  his  providence ;  and  faint  with  longing 
that  it  might  come  unto  His  place,  and  behold  Him  not  girt 
with  His  majesty  but  in  human  form,  as  one  looketh  upon  his 
fellow — it  is  these  elements  of  truth  that  make  the  history  of 
Job  instructive  to  the  people  of  Israel  in  the  times  of  affliction 
when  it  was  set  before  them,  and  to  men  in  all  ages^ 

The  manifold  theories  of  the  purpose  of  the  Book  that  have 
been  put  forth  cannot  be  mentioned  here.  The  construction 
of  Ewald,  brilliant  and  powerful  though  it  be,  has  not  been 
accepted  by  any  other  writer.  Bleek,  unable  to  find  any  single 
idea  giving  unity  to  the  Book,  contents  himself  with  stating 
three  truths  which  the  Book  appears  to  teach,  (r)  That  even  a 
pious  man  may  be  visited  by  God  with  heavy  and  manifold 
afflictions  without  it  being  necessary  to  consider  these  as 
punishment  on  account  of  special  sinfulness  and  as  a  sign  of 
special  divine  displeasure ;  that  it  is  wrong  to  reproach  such  a 
one  with  his  sufferings  as  if  they  had  their  origin  in  the  divine 
displeasure,  seeing  they  may  rather  be  inflicted  or  permitted  by 
God  in  order  that  his  piety  may  be  tried  and  find  suitable 
opportunity  of  approving  itself  (Prologue).  (2)  That  it  is  foolish 
presumption  on  the  part  of  men  to  strive  with  God  on  account 
of  the  sufferings  befalling  them,  and  to  seek  to  call  Him  to  a 
reckoning,  seeing  no  man  is  in  a  position  to  fathom  the  wisdom 
and  counsel  of  God,  man's  true  wisdom  being  rather  to  fear  the 
Lord  and  eschew  evil  (Poem).  (3)  That  Jehovah  will  at  last 
surely  have  compassion  on  the  pious  sufferer  and  bless  and 
glorify  him,  if  he  perseveres  in  his  piety  and  cleaves  to  God,  or  if, 
having  transgressed  in  his  impatience,  he  repents  (Epilogue)^. 

An  attractive  theory,  in  some  degree  a  modification  of  that  of 
Hupfeld  and  others,  has  more  recently  been  put  forth  by  some 
acute  writers  in  Holland.     It  is  to  the  effect  that  the  author's 


'   Encyclop.  Briiann.  Art.  "Job." 

*  Introduction,  4  Ed.  p.  .5.54,  Trans,  ii.  p. 


INTRODUCTION. 


design  is  merely  to  cast  some  light  upon  an  acknowledged 
problem.  The  problem  is  the  sufferings  of  the  innocent— how 
they  are  to  be  reconciled  with  the  righteousness  of  God.  This 
problem  is  presented  in  the  Prologue,  which  exhibits  a  righteous 
man  subjected  to  great  calamities.  The  Prologue  gives  no  ex- 
planation of  these  calamities;  Job's  demeanour  under  his  suc- 
cessive troubles  merely  shews  his  rectitude :  here  is  undoubtedly 
a  righteous  man.  In  Job's  person  the  problem  is  embodied  and 
presented.  Even  the  debate  between  him  and  his  friends  has 
no  further  effect  or  purpose  than  to  set  the  problem  in  a  strong 
light.  The  friends  attempt  an  explanation  of  Job's  afflictions, 
and  if  they  had  succeeded  the  problem  would  have  been  at  an 
end.  By  their  failure  it  is  only  seen  more  clearly  to  be  a 
problem.  Job  contributes  no  solution,  but  his  perplexity  and 
despair  and  danger  of  apostasy  shew  how  terrible  the  problem 
is.  The  whole  point  of  the  Book,  therefore,  lies  in  the  divine 
speeches.  All  the  rest  is  mere  fact,  or  brilliant  exhibition  of  a 
fact,  that  there  is  a  terrible  problem.  The  divine  speeches  do 
not  solve  the  problem,  for  the  problem  is  insoluble,  but  thcv 
give  some  satisfaction :  they  teach  why  it  is  insoluble,  namely, 
because  God  and  His  ways  are  inscrutable.  They  say  in  effect 
two  things:  man  cannot  do  what  God  does;  and  he  cannot 
understand  why  He  does  what  He  does.  And  the  conclusion  is 
that  nothing  remains  for  him  but  acquiescence  in  the  unsearch- 
able providence  of  God.  This  is  the  great  lesson  which  the 
author  designed  to  teach  his  generation  and  mankind i. 

There  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  theory,  i.  Besides 
that  the  line  of  thought  found  in  the  Book  is  rather  modern,  the 
reader  has  difficulty  in  believing  that  the  author's  purpose  went 
no  further  than  to  present  a  problem,  pronounce  it  insoluble, 
and  recommend  resignation.  2.  The  reading  of  the  Prologue 
which  finds  in  its  language  no  explanation  of  Job's  afflictions  is 
unnatural;  and  this  reading  of  it  leaves  the  function  of  the 
Satan  entirely  unexplained,  who  becomes  a  mere  "evil  spirit", 

^  Kuenen,  Onderzock,  iii.  125.  More  fully  and  genially  RIatihes  in 
his  excellent  commentary,  Hd  Bock  Job,  Dcel  I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


in  no  connexion  with  the  providence  of  God.  3.  According  to 
this  theory  Job's  afflictions  narrated  in  the  Prologue,  and  these 
are  all  his  afflictions,  have  merely  the  purpose  of  shewing  his 
righteousness,  which  only  comes  to  light  by  them.  But  in  this 
way  the  author  becomes  guilty  of  a  strange  inconsequence.  He 
meant  to  put  forward  the  terrible  problem  of  the  sufferings  of  a 
righteous  man ;  but  these  sufferings  were  necessary  to  shew  that 
the  man  was  righteous,  and  thus  they  are  explained,  and  there 
is  no  problem.  4.  The  reading  of  the  divine  speeches  is 
narrow  and  not  natural.  5.  The  epilogue  is  an  irrelevancy,  or 
hangs  in  the  loosest  way  to  the  Poem.  It  is  added  merely 
because  "poetic  justice"  demanded  it,  or  because  the  author 
"could  not"  let  his  hero  die  in  misery,  or  for  some  similar  senti- 
mental reason. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Integrity  of  the  Book. 

With  the  exception  of  the  speeches  of  Elihu  there  is  none  of 
the  five  great  divisions  of  the  Book  (Introd.  ch.  i.)  against  which, 
as  a  whole,  serious  objection  can  be  brought,  though  some 
portions  of  the  second  and  fourth  divisions  may  be  liable  to 
doubt.  The  idea  or  purpose  of  the  Poem  has  been  very  dif- 
ferently understood,  and  objections  to  particular  parts  of  the 
Book  have  generally  arisen  from  the  feeling  that  these  parts 
were  not  in  harmony  with  the  idea  of  the  author  as  the  main 
body  of  the  Poem  revealed  it.  One  of  the  latest  writers  on 
the  Book  has  found  it  necessary  to  amputate  every  limb  from 
the  Poem,  leaving  it  a  mere  trunk,  consisting  of  ch.  iii. — xxxi., 
and  even  this  trunk  is  so  misshapen  that  its  shoulders  are  found 
in  the  region  of  its  bowels^ 


^  Studer,  who  brinirs  forward  ch.  xxix.  xxx.  to  the  bcc;uinu)c:  of  the 
loem. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I.     The  Prologue  and  Epilogue. 

It  may  be  remarked  in  general  that  without  some  introduc- 
tion the  discussion  between  Job  and  his  friends  would  not  have 
been  intelligible,  just  as  without  some  conclusion  such  as  the 
Epilogue  the  Poem  would  have  been  left  in  a  condition  very- 
unsatisfactory  and  incomplete.  Some  introduction  and  conclu- 
sion must  have  accompanied  the  Poem,  and  there  is  no  evidence 
or  probability  that  any  others,  different  from  those  now  found, 
ever  existed. 

I.  Several  of  the  objections  urged  against  the  Prologue  and 
Epilogue  are  of  no  weight,  such  as  the  following:  that  the  Pro- 
logue and  Epilogue  are  written  in  prose,  while  the  body  of  the 
Book  is  poetry ;  that  the  name  Jehovah  is  employed  in  the  Pro- 
logue while  other  names  are  used  in  the  Poem;  and  that 
sacrifices  are  referred  to  in  the  Prologue  and  Epilogue  but  never 
in  the  body  of  the  Book. 

All  narrative  in  Hebrew  is  in  proge.  The  author  writes  in 
prose  when  introducing  the  speakers  even  in  the  body  of  the 
Poem,  e.g.  ch.  xxxviii.  i.  Even  in  the  episode  of  Elihu  the 
passage  of  some  length  (ch.  xxxii.  i — 5)  which  brings  that 
speaker  upon  the  stage  is  prose.  As  to  the  divine  names,  the 
author,  an  Israelite,  employs  the  name  usual  in  Israel;  the 
speakers  whom  he  introduces,  belonging  to  the  patriarchal  time, 
use  the  divine  names  more  current  then.  That  this  is  part  of 
the  antique  disguise  maintained  by  the  author  appears  from  his 
allowing  the  name  Jehovah  to  escape  from  Job's  mouth  on 
more  than  one  occasion  (ch.  i.  21,  xii.  9),  and  from  his  own 
use  of  this  name  even  in  the  Poem  when  introducing  a  new 
speaker  (ch.  xxxviii.  i).  The  sacrifice  referred  to  in  the  Pro- 
logue and  Epilogue  is  the  patriarchal  burnt-offering,  and  that 
Job  himself  offers  it  is  in  keeping  with  the  usages  of  that  early 
time.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Prologue  has  a  more 
ritualistic  colour  than  the  Poem,  for  even  in  the  Poem  priests 
(ch.  xii.  19)  and  vows  (xxii.  27)  are  referred  to. 

2.  Hardly  of  more  consequence  is  the  averment  that  the 
Prologue  and  Epilogue  are  in  disagreement  with  the   Poem, 


INTRODUCTION. 


first,  in  regard  to  Job's  children,  whom  the  Prologue  represents 
as  perishing,  while  in  the  Poem  they  are  spoken  of  as  alive ; 
and  secondly,  in  regard  to  the  Almighty's  treatment  of  Job, 
whom  He  commends  in  the  Epilogue,  but  severely  blames  in  the 
Poem. 

Not  only  in  the  Prologue  but  twice  in  the  Poem  Job's  sons 
are  referred  to  as  having  perished  (ch.  viii.  4,  xxix.  5).  The 
passage  ch.  xix.  17  is  of  doubtful  meaning  (see  notes).  Even  if 
we  felt  compelled  to  assume  that  the  children  of  Job's  body  there 
referred  to  were  his  sons,  the  writer  would  merely  be  guilty  of 
an  inconsequence  (no  great  matter  in  a  Poem  which  is  not  strict 
history),  no  inference  could  be  drawn  against  the  originality  of 
the  Prologue,  because  the  same  argument  would  remove  two 
chapters  from  the  Poem. 

The  Lord  blames  Job  in  the  Poem  (ch.  xxxviii.  seq.)  and  com- 
mends him  in  the  Epilogue  (ch.  xlii.  7).  But  He  does  not  blame 
and  applaud  him  at  once  and  for  the  same  reason.  In  the 
speeches  out  of  the  storm  Job  is  reproved  for  the  irreverence  to- 
wards God  into  which  he  had  been  betrayed ;  and  in  the  Epilogue 
he  is  commended  for  perceiving  that  the  theory  upheld  by  the 
three  friends  was  no  true  theory  of  God's  providence  as  it  is  in 
fact  administered,  and  for  maintaining  at  all  hazards  and  under 
every  obloquy  what  he  perceived  to  be  the  truth.  Neither  is 
there  any  weight  in  the  allegation  that  Job's  unsubmissive  beha- 
viour in  the  Poem  contradicts  what  is  said  of  his  godly  patience 
in  the  Prologue.  Job  is  able  to  exhibit  pious  resignation  to  the 
will  of  God  on  the  first  incidence  of  his  calamities,  but  under 
the  prolonged  agony  of  his  sufferings  and  in  the  sympathising 
presence  of  his  friends  he  loses  his  self-control  and  breaks  out 
into  a  despairing  cry  for  death.  The  transition  from  the  one 
mood  to  the  other  is  made  in  the  most  natural  manner. 

3.  Of  more  importance  is  the  objection  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  Satan  in  the  Prologue  belongs  to  an  age  later  than  that  to 
which  the  Poem  can  be  referred. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  say  to  what  age  the  Poem  ought  to  be 
referred.  It  is  true  that  the  name,  the  Satan,  occurs  here  for 
the  first  time  ;  that  in  i  Kings  xxii.  iq.  where  a  scene  in  heaven 


INTRODUCTION. 


somewhat  similar  to  that  in  the  Prologue  is  presented,  mention 
is  made  only  of  "the  spirit";  and  that  in  Zcch.  iii.,  a  post-exile 
writing,  where  the  name  again  occurs,  the  Adversary  performs 
a  part  very  similar  to  that  which  he  plays  in  Job,  and  probably 
the  two  books  do  not  stand  at  a  very  great  distance  from  one 
another.  There  is,  however,  a  certain  difference  between  the 
representations  in  Job  and  Zechariah.  In  the  prophet  the 
Satan  appears  in  somewhat  darker  colours,  and  in  somewhat 
stronger  opposition  to  the  merciful  purposes  of  God  in  regard 
to  men  ;  hence  while  in  Job  he  is  merely  reproached  by  God 
for  setting  Him  on  against  His  servant,  he  is  rebuked  by  Him 
in  Zechariah.  We  must  be  careful  not  to  impose  upon  the 
Book  of  Job  or  this  prophet  conceptions  belonging  to  a  more 
advanced  period.  The  Satan  of  these  books  is  no  mere  "  evil 
spirit,"  the  real  enemy  of  God  though  His  unwilling  subject.  There 
is  no  antagonism  between  God  and  the  Satan.  The  idea  that  the 
"attacks  of  Satan  are  aimed  primarily  at  the  honour  of  God"  ; 
that  his  purpose  is  to  deny  that  God  is  "ever  disinterestedly 
served  and  sincerely  loved  by  any  being  whatever";  and  that 
"the  object  of  the  trial  of  Job  is  precisely  to  demonstrate  to 
him  the  contrary^" — such  an  idea  is  altogether  at  variance  with 
Old  Testament  conceptions.  The  Satan  is  the  servant  of  God, 
representing  or  carrying  out  His  trying,  sifting  providence,  and 
the  opposer  of  men  because  he  is  the  minister  of  God ;  hence 
Job's  afflictions,  represented  as  inflicted  by  the  Satan  in  one 
place,  are  spoken  of  as  due  to  the  hand  of  God  in  another,  "thou 
hast  set  me  on  against  him  to  destroy  him"  (ch.  ii.  3),  just  as 
Job's  friends  "  came  to  condole  with  him  over  all  the  evil  which 
the  Lord  had  brought  upon  him"  (ch.  xlii.  11),  and  of  course 
everywhere  in  the  Poem  the  Almighty  is  assumed  to  be  the 
author  of  Job's  calamities  both  by  the  sufferer  and  his  friends. 
The  angels  and  Satan  among  them  are  the  ministers  of  God's 
providence.  The  Satan  being  the  minister  of  God's  trying 
providence,  which  is  often  administered  by  means  of  afflictions, 
it  was  an  easy  step  to  take  to  endow  him  with  the  spirit  of 


^  Godei,  Biblical  Shcdies,  p.  229. 


INTRODUCTION. 


hostility  to  man  which  such  afflictions  seemed  to  reflect.  This 
step  is  taken  in  the  Book,  though  not  very  decidedly.  It  was 
another  and  natural  step  to  take,  though  in  a  somewhat 
different  direction,  to  represent  him  as  acting  in  opposition  to 
the  gracious  mind  of  God  towards  men.  This  is  little  more 
than  if  a  conflict  had  been  imagined  between  God's  attribute 
of  mercy  and  His  resolution  to  try.  A  movement  towards  this 
step  is  made  in  Job,  and  a  certain  further  advance  in  the 
direction  is  observable  in  Zechariah.  But  all  this  is  very  far 
short  of  a  conflict  between  God  and  Satan.  The  Satan  is  a 
mere  instrument  in  the  economy  of  God's  providence,  and 
though  represented  as  a  person,  his  personal  standing  is  only 
of  the  slightest  consequence.  Hence  he  does  not  appear  in  the 
Epilogue.  His  part  was,  in  the  service  of  God,  to  try  Job;  that 
done  he  disappears,  having  no  place  assigned  to  him  among  the 
dramatis  personce  of  the  Poem.  There  is  nothing,  therefore, 
in  this  conception  of  the  Satan  which  implies  a  very  late  age, 
or  which  brings  the  Prologue  into  disagreement  with  the  Poem. 
4.  It  is  objected  to  the  Prologue  that  it  gives  an  explanation 
of  Job's  calamities,  while  no  such  explanation  is  known  in  the 
Poem,  being  alluded  to  neither  in  the  divine  speeches  nor  those 
of  any  other  speaker,  nor  yet  even  in  the  Epilogue ;  and  that 
in  fact  the  idea  of  an  explanation  of  calamities  such  as  Job's 
is  opposed  to  the  whole  drift  of  the  divine  speeches,  which 
teach  that  God's  ways  are  inscrutable,  and  instead  of  oftering 
an  explanation  to  man  demand  from  him  submission  and  faith. 
It  is  evident  that  this  objection  hangs  by  a  particular"  con- 
ception of  the  idea  or  purpose  of  the  Book.  This  idea  is  as- 
sumed to  be  revealed  in  the  speeches  of  the  Almighty,  for  no 
doubt  the  author  puts  into  the  mouth  of  the  highest  speaker 
the  ultimate  truth;  and  this  truth  is  considered  to  be  that  just 
stated,  namely,  that  God's  ways  are  incomprehensible,  and  that 
man  must  believe  in  His  righteousness  though  he  cannot  per- 
ceive it,  and  find  refuge  from  his  doubts  in  faith.  But  first,  this 
reading  of  the  meaning  of  the  divine  speeches  is  certainly  not 
natural ;  they  have  a  broader  purpose  than  to  teach  that  God's 
providence  is  inscrutable,  or  what  does  Job  mean  when  he  says, 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION. 


"Now  mine  eye  seeth  thee"?  Does  he  mean  that  now  he  saw 
Him  to  be  wholly  incomprehensible?  Secondly,  the  fact  that 
in  the  Epilogue,  which  no  one  has  ever  doubted  to  come  from 
the  same  hand  as  the  Prologue,  no  reference  is  made  to  the 
cause  of  Job's  calamities,  is  a  warning  against  making  much 
of  the  silence  of  Job  or  the  other  speakers.  How  could  they 
refer  to  the  cause  of  Job's  sufferings  of  which  they  were  entirely 
ignorant,  and  when  their  ignorance  was  the  very  condition  of 
their  disputing  the  question?  The  explanation  of  Job's  calami- 
ties is  the  secret  of  the  author  alone,  and  is  the  truth  which  he 
erects  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  theory  of  providence,  which  he 
causes  Job  to  demolish.  And  if  Job's  afflictions  were  a  trial  of 
his  righteousness,  it  belongs  to  the  very  idea  of  a  trial  that  he 
should  be  in  perplexity  why  he  is  afflicted.  And  thirdly,  it  would 
have  been  altogether  unbecoming  that  God  should  enter  upon 
a  discussion  of  His  particular  providences  with  Job,  and  con- 
trary to  His  manner  of  teaching  men,  which  is  not  to  com- 
municate immediate  intellectual  light  to  them,  but  to  fill  their 
minds  with  such  a  sense  of  Himself  that  even  amidst  the  dark- 
ness they  will  take  their  right  place  before  Him.  The  object  of 
the  divine  speeches  is  not  primarily  to  teach,  but  to  impress. 
The  panorama  of  creation  brings  before  Job's  mind  so  vividly 
what  God  is  that  he  feels  he  now  "sees"  Him,  and  the  sight 
leads  him  back  to  the  position  which  he  had  been  able  to 
maintain  at  the  end  of  each  of  his  first  trials ;  or  perhaps  with 
his  higher  knowledge  of  God  and  his  deeper  humility  now 
attained  his  position  was  securer  than  before. 

5.  It  is  objected  to  the  Epilogue  that  it  is  in  contradiction 
with  the  Poem,  because  in  crowning  Job  with  a  double  pro- 
sperity the  author  falls  back  into  the  old  doctrine  of  retribution, 
the  falsehood  of  which  is  demonstrated  in  the  Poem. 

The  author,  however,  does  not  desire  to  question  the  general 
doctrine  of  retribution,  but  to  shew  that  there  are  cases  or 
at  least  one  case  which  it  does  not  explain.  He  desires  to  add 
another  explanation  of  afflictions  to  those  existing. 

If  the  drama  be  the  trial  of  the  righteous,  the  author  must 
bring  it  to  some  conclusion.     Job's  faith  projected  a  vindication 


INTRODUCTION. 


for  himself  after  death,  but  it  was  impossible  for  the  author, 
even  if  he  had  wished,  to  bring  this  to  view.  Such  an  idea  as  that 
which  we  now  possess  of  "heaven  "  did  not  exist  in  his  day.  In 
the  consummation  of  the  Church's  history,  when  God  and  His 
people  are  in  perfect  fellowship,  they  are  not  translated  into 
heaven  to  be  with  God,  God  comes  down  to  earth  and  abides 
with  men.  The  author  had  no  stage  for  concluding  his  drama 
on  the  "other  side."  The  most  that  the  efforts  of  pious  spirits 
had  attained  in  his  day  was  in  occasional  flights  of  faith  to 
pierce  the  darkness  beyond  this  life,  and  assure  themselves 
that  their  life  with  God  here  should  not  be  interrupted  there. 
But  there  was  no  such  clearness  of  knowledge  as  to  afford 
room  for  a  scene  between  God  and  the  pious  soul.  Job  pre- 
sented such  a  scene  to  himself  as  a  necessity,  because  he  was 
assured  that  he  should  die  under  his  malady.  The  religious 
truth  contained  in  Job's  anticipation  the  author  causes  to  be 
realized,  though  he  does  it  on  this  side  of  death. 

Moreover,  though  Job  be  an  individual,  he  is  more  than  an 
individual.  The  national  history  reflects  itself  in  his.  And  his 
restoration,  if  it  w^as  to  set  forth  that  of  the  people,  must  be  to 
worldly  prosperity. 

2.     The  Passage  ch.  xxvil.  7 — ch.  xxvilL 

This  passage  has  been  the  source  of  great  perplexity  to  com- 
mentators. The  difficulties  in  connexion  with  it  are  two:  first,  to 
reconcile  the  sentiments  expressed  by  Job  in  these  two  chapters 
with  those  expressed  by  him  both  before  this  passage  and  after  it ; 
and  secondly,  to  discover  any  link  of  connexion  between  chaps. 
xxvii.  and  xxviii.  On  the  one  hand,  while  no  doubt  the  state  of 
Job's  feeling  towards  God  fluctuates,  or  rather  gradually  changes, 
he  consistently  maintains  throughout  the  same  view  of  provi- 
dence and  the  same  opinion  as  to  the  issue  of  his  own  afflictions, 
and  to  impute  to  him  contradictory  extravagances,  or  as  one 
writer  says  even  "incoherences,"  on  these  two  points  is  out  of 
the  question.  On  the  other  hand,  the  reader  is  very  averse  to 
entertain  the  idea  of  a  later  addition  to  the  Book  at  this  point ; 


INTRODUCTION. 


any  way  of  overcoming  the  difficulties  that  is  possible  is  to  be 
preferred. 

In  ch.  xxvii.  li  seq.  Job  undertakes  to  teach  his  friends  re- 
garding the  fate  of  the  wicked  what  they  had  always  affirmed ; 
and  in  giving  them  this  lesson  he  entirely  retracts  what  he  had 
formerly  said  in  regard  to  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  till  their 
death,  and  expresses  himself  in  a  way  which  implies  that  at  the 
moment  he  takes  a  view  of  his  own  sufferings  different  from  the 
view  taken  by  him  both  before  this  chapter  and  after  it. 

Three  solutions  of  the  difficulty  have  been  proposed :  (i)  It 
has  been  thought  that  the  speeches  in  this  part  of  the  book  have 
suffered  some  dislocation,  and  that  the  passage  in  ch.  xxvii.,  now 
attributed  to  Job,  is  really  the  missing  third  speech  of  Zophar. 
(2)  Others  think  that  in  this  passage  Job  is  not  expressing  his 
own  sentiments,  but  parodying  or  representing  those  of  his  friends, 
— "  Why  are  ye  thus  altogether  vain,  saying,  This  is  the  portion 
of  the  wicked  man  with  God"  &c.  (ch.  xxvii.  12  scq.).  (3)  The 
passage  is  a  later  insertion  into  the  Book. 

It  may  be  confidently  said  that  if  the  passage  do  not  express 
the  proper  sentiments  of  Job  there  is  no  alternative  but  to  con- 
sider it  a  later  addition,  from  ch.  xxvii.  7  onwards.  For  as  to  (i), 
although  the  argument  that  the  party  addressed  here  is  spoken 
to  in  the  plural  whWt  Job  is  always  addressed  in  the  singular^, 
may  not  go  for  much,  as  the  statement  is  not  quite  exact  (ch. 
xviii.  2 — 3,  XXXV.  4),  the  brevity  of  the  speech  put  into  Bildad's 
mouth  (ch.  XXV.)  shews  that  the  author  designed  to  indicate  that 
the  arguments  on  the  side  of  the  friends  were  exhausted;  and 
therefore  another  reply  from  Zophar  is  not  to  be  expected.  This 
natural  exhaustion  of  the  controversy  is  what  brings  it  to  an  end, 
not  any  modification  of  his  views  by  Job,  without  which  it  has 
been  said  that  it  might  have  gone  on  forever^.  The  dispute  on 
the  side  of  the  friends  comes  to  an  end  because  they  can  find 
nothing  more  to  urge  against  Job — such  at  least  Elihu  under- 
stands to  be  the  state  of  the  case  (ch.  xxxii.  5);  and  it  comes  to 


^  Kuenen,  Oudcrzoch,  ill.  143. 

-  Umbrcit,  quoted  with  approval  by  Dclitzscli. 


INTRODUCTION. 


an  end  before  Job  makes  the  modification  which  he  is  under- 
stood to  make,  for  the  place  left  vacant  by  the  missing  reply  of 
Zophar  lies  between  chaps,  xxvi.  and  xxvii. 

Then  as  to  (2).  The  assumption  that  Job  is  here  reciting 
the  theories  of  his  friends  is  supposed  both  to  remove  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  language  ch.  xxvii.  13  j'^^.,  and  to  afford  a  connexion 
with  ch.  xxviii.,  which  then  attaches  itself  to  the  words,  "  I  will 
teach  you  concerning  the  hand  of  God  "  (ch.  xxvii.  1 1-12).  There 
is  nothing,  however,  in  the  passage  to  suggest  that  the  senti- 
ments are  not  those  of  the  speaker  himself.  On  the  contrary, 
when  he  undertakes  to  teach  concerning  the  hand  of  God,  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  the  following  verses  contain  the  lesson, 
namely,  God's  way  of  dealing  with  the  wicked.  If  v%>.  11-12  be 
connected  with  ch.  xxviii.  the  teaching  must  be  sought  in  that 
chapter.  But  there  is  really  no  teaching  regarding  the  "  hand" 
of  God  in  ch.  xxviii.,  though  much  regarding  the  ingenuity  of  men. 
The  intermediate  passage,  ch.  xxvii.  13 — 23,  hides  the  incon- 
gruity of  this  view;  but  if  these  verses  be  removed  and  ch.  xxviii. 
read  in  connexion  with  ch.  xxvii.  11 — 12,  what  Job  says  to  his 
friends  is  this :  "  I  will  teach  you  regarding  the  hand  of  God  ! 
— It  is  simply  incomprehensible"  ! 

In  regard  to  (3)  these  remarks  may  suffice  : — 

1.  Job's  protestation  of  innocence,  ch.  xxvii.  2 — 6,  is  quite  in 
place,  but  the  connexion  between  vv.  2 — 6  and  v.  7  seq.  appears 
loose,  and  the  change  of  tone  in  the  two  passages  is  difficult  to 
account  for  (see  on  ch.  xxvii.  7). 

2.  The  meaning  suggested  by  vv.  7—10  is  difficult  to  recon- 
cile with  the  condition  of  Job  at  this  stage  of  his  history,  or 
with  the  view  which  he  takes  of  the  meaning  of  his  afflictions, 
and  of  the  certain  issue  of  them,  both  before  and  after  the  pre- 
sent chapter  (see  on  ch.  xxvii.  10 — 12). 

3.  The  supposition  is  made  by  most  writers  that  in  ch.  xxvii.  1 3 
seq.  Job  is  modifying  his  former  extravagant  expressions  regard- 
ing the  wicked,  and  conceding  that  as  a  rule  they  come  to  a  dis- 
astrous end  at  the  hand  of  God.  The  limitation,  however,  "  as  a 
rule  "  under  which  the  passage  has  to  be  read  is  conveyed  into  it ; 
the  language  is  as  absolute  as  that  of  Zophar  or  any  of  the  three. 

JOB  " 


INTRODUCTION. 


Besides,  far  too  much  is  made  of  the  extravagances  of  Job.  He 
has  really  nothing  to  retract  except  his  unbecoming  words  in 
regard  to  God  (ch.  xl.  3 — 5,  xlii.  i — 6).  He  never  said  anything 
so  absurd  as  that  the  wicked  were  always  happy,  it  was  enough 
for  his  purpose  to  give  instances  of  their  happiness.  His  con- 
tention from  beginning  to  end,  stated  with  perfect  plainness,  ch. 
xxi.  22  scq.,  and  ch.  xxiv.  i  with  the  illustrations  that  follow,  was 
that  in  God's  rule  of  the  world  no  clear  distinction  was  to 
be  observed  between  the  lot  of  the  righteous  and  that  of  the 
wicked.  And  it  is  the  undoubted  purpose  of  the  author  to  allow 
Job  successfully  to  maintain  this  contention.  The  consideration 
urged  so  universally  that  Job,  though  here  modifying  his  former 
extreme  statements  about  the  felicity  of  the  wicked,  abates  not 
one  jot  of  his  own  claim  to  rectitude,  is  rather  beside  the  point. 
It  is  not  Job  altogether  but  the  author  of  Job  with  whom  we 
have  to  do.  Job  is  merely  his  instrument,  and  he  has  used  him 
with  the  advance  of  the  dispute  to  raise  a  much  more  general 
question  than  that  involved  in  his  own  case,  namely,  the  ques- 
tion of  God's  providence  on  the  whole  as  it  is  observed  in  the 
lot  of  men.  Job's  innocence  is  merely  one  key  of  the  situation, 
the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  is  the  other;  and  it  is  highly  impro- 
bable that  the  author  should  allow  Job  to  evacuate  either  of  his 
positions,  for  it  is  the  maintenance  of  these  very  positions  to 
which  he  sets  the  seal  of  God's  approval  in  the  Epilogue  (ch. 
xlii.  7  seq^. 

Even  assuming  that  Job  should  desire  to  modify  his  former 
language  in  I'egard  to  the  wicked,  his  modification  is  now  more 
exaggerated  on  the  one  side  than  his  former  statements  were  on 
the  other.     He  is  to  the  full 

as  extreme  in  submission 
As  in  offence. 

Ewald  puts  in  a  caution  against  taking  the  words  "  too  sla- 
vishly." But  this  representation  of  Job  as  indulging  fust  on  one 
side  in  extravagant  language,  which  he  retracts  only  to  indulge 
in  language  more  extravagant  on  the  opposite  side,  can  scarcely 
be  true  to  the  author's  conception.     In  addition,  the  language 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  ch.  xxvii.  13  seq.  presents  what  might  be  called  a  psychologi- 
cal difficulty.  When  describing  the  fate  of  the  wicked  at  God's 
hand,  Job  uses  the  same  figures  and  even  the  same  words  as 
he  employs  when  speaking  of  his  own  destruction  by  God  (see 
on  ch.  xxvii.  21  seq.).     There  is  something  unlikely  in  this. 

On  the  other  hand,  two  things  must  be  remembered  :  first, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  literary  character  of  the  passage  which 
suggests  another  speaker  than  Job ;  and  second,  it  was  not  the 
author's  design  to  deny  the  doctrine  of  the  retributive  righteous- 
ness of  God  out  and  out,  and  he  might  have  allowed  Job  to 
modify  his  statements. 

Ch.  xxviii.  suggests  some  points  for  reflexion,  apart  from  its 
loose  connexion  with  ch.  xxvii. 

1.  The  Poet  appears  more  conscious  of  his  art  here  than  the 
author  of  the  preceding  chapters  has  hitherto  shewn  himself  to 
be,  and  we  have  a  daintier  piece  of  work  from  his  hand  than  any 
we  have  yet  met  with.  Job's  fierce  moral  earnestness,  too,  seems 
to  have  deserted  him  ;  he  is  diverted  by  the  activities  and  inge- 
nuities of  mankind,  while  before  he  was  fascinated  by  the  over- 
whelming thought  of  God,  and  spoke  of  man  chiefly  as  God's 
terrible  power  exhibited  itself  upon  him  (ch.  ix.,  xii.  and  often). 

2.  The  meaning  of  the  speaker  here  can  be  no  other  than 
that  stated  in  the  notes,  namely  that  to  understand  the  princi- 
ples that  rule  in  the  world  and  the  histories  of  men  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  man's  mind.  Man  has  his  wisdom,  which  is  to 
fear  the  Lord ;  that  Wisdom,  which  is  comprehension  of  the 
world,  is  beyond  him.  This  is  very  unlike  the  spirit  of  Job. 
He  shews  no  such  contentment  in  the  face  of  the  problems 
of  his  history.  He  demands  knowledge.  He  is  a  chained 
eagle,  who  spreads  his  wings  and  dashes  himself  against  the 
bars  of  his  cage;  he  would  soar  unto  God's  place  and  pluck  the 
mystery  out  of  the  darkness  (ch.  xxiii.  3).  And,  though  with  less 
of  passion,  this  continues  to  be  his  temper  to  the  end  (ch.  xxxi. 
35  seq^.  That  he  should  here  acquiesce  in  the  incomprehensi- 
bility of  God's  way  and  a  little  further  on  again  demand  to 
comprehend  it  is  very  strange. 

3.  Such  a  subdued  and  reflective  frame  of  mind  at  this  stage 

d  2 


xl  INTRODUCTION. 


anticipates  the  effect  produced  by  the  manifestation  of  God  and 
His  words  on  Job  (ch.  xxxviii.  seq^,  and  it  is  hardly  to  be 
thought  that  the  author  would  have  allowed  him  to  descend 
from  his  previous  agitation  into  such  calm  apart  from  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Almighty's  interposition.  Besides,  the  passage 
seems  to  go  beyond  the  teaching  of  the  divine  speeches,  for 
these  hardly  contain  the  formal  doctrine  of  the  inscrutableness 
of  God's  ways,  though  they  teach  that  submission  to  God  is  due 
from  men  even  when  they  cannot  comprehend  them.  And  there 
is  another  point.  The  ironical  tone  of  the  divine  speeches  is  un- 
suitable if  adopted  towards  one  in  the  frame  of  the  speaker  in 
this  chapter.  This  tone  is  hard  enough  to  understand  in  any  case, 
but  it  is  doubly  hard  if  assumed  towards  one  who  avows  with 
such  devoutness  his  intellectual  bankruptcy. 

After  all  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  to  relieve  the  diffi- 
culties of  these  two  chapters  they  still  to  a  considerable  extent 
remain. 

3.     The  Speeches  of  Eliliu. 

A  brief  review  of  these  speeches  is  necessary  in  order  to 
understand  the  reasons  that  have  been  adduced  for  believing 
that  the  passage  does  not  belong  to  the  original  cast  ot  the 
Book.  There  are  three  points  that  require  to  be  looked  at :  (i) 
the  motive  which  Elihu  has  for  speaking;  (2)  the  position  which 
he  takes  towards  the  three  friends  and  their  doctrine  ;  and  (3) 
the  position  which  he  takes  towards  Job  and  his  sentiments. 

(i.)  That  which  moves  Elihu  to  speak  and  the  purpose  he 
has  in  his  discourses  are  described  by  the  writer  who  introduces 
him,  and  repeated  by  himself.  The  three  friends  left  off  speak- 
ing because  Job  was  right  in  his  own  eyes :  they  could  not 
move  him  from  his  assertion  that  God  afflicted  him  wrongly. 
Therefore  the  anger  of  Elihu  was  kindled  against  both  Job  and 
his  friends — against  Job  because  he  made  himself  in  the  right 
at  the  expense  of  the  rectitude  of  God  ;  and  against  the  friends 
because  they  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  silenced,  and  had 
failed  to  convict  Job  of  the  wrong  of  which  he  was  guilty  against 
God.     In  other  words,  indignation  at  the  position  towards  God 


INTRODUCTION.  xli 


which  Job  had  assumed  was  what  moved  Elihu  to  speak,  and  of 
course  the  purpose  of  his  speech  was  to  shew  Job  to  be  in  the 
wrong.  His  anger  against  the  friends  arose  simply  from  their 
faiHng  to  do  what  they  ought  to  have  done.  He  was  dis- 
appointed in  their  arguments  ;  he  had  looked  for  something 
better  from  their  gray  hairs.  He  does  not  appear  to  express 
dissatisfaction  with  them  on  any  other  ground.  Hence,  after 
giving  vent  to  his  indignation  that  "they  found  no  answer  to 
condemn  Job"  (ch.  xxxii.  3),  that  "there  was  no  answer  in  the 
mouth  of  these  three  men"  (ch.  xxxii,  5, 12),  and  his  astonishment 
that  they  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  silenced  by  Job  (ch.  xxxii. 
15),  and  after  excusing  himself  for  venturing  to  let  his  youthful 
voice  be  heard  among  such  venerable  counsellors  (ch.  xxxii.  6  j-r^.), 
he  no  more  alludes  to  them.  His  contention  is  with  Job  alone, 
and  his  purpose  is  to  justify  God  against  his  unbecoming 
charges. 

Elihu  is  of  a  very  devout  nature  ;  his  reverence  of  God  and 
awe  and  fear  before  Him  are  very  great.  It  is  this  feeling  that 
makes  him  come  forward  to  meet  the  assertions  of  Job  :  he 
"will  ascribe  right  to  his  Maker"  (ch.  xxxvi.  3).  The  irreverence 
of  Job  shocks  him  ;  the  hardihood  with  which  he  confronts  the 
Almighty  marks  him  out  to  his  mind  as  the  most  godless  of 
men — "who  is  a  man  like  Job,  drinking  in  scorning  like  water"  ? 
(ch.  xxxiv.  5 — 7).  This  feeling  is  not  strange,  for  undoubtedly 
the  speeches  of  Job  exceed  in  boldness  almost  anything  that 
has  ever  been  written  (ch.  vii.,  ix — x).  To  judge  Job  fairly,  it  is 
true,  his  other  expressions  of  ineradicable  faith  in  God  must  be 
taken  into  account.  But  these  being  allowed  their  due  weight, 
his  language  still  remains  an  offence  to  reverent  feeling.  How 
much  it  does  so  in  our  own  day  may  be  inferred  from  the  painful 
assiduity  with  which  it  is  toned  down  in  modern  commentaries. 
This  reverent  sensitiveness  in  regard  to  God  constitutes  the 
chief  charm  of  Elihu's  speeches,  and  the  Book  would  be  de- 
cidedly poorer  for  the  want  of  them.  At  the  same  time  the 
contrast  between  it  and  the  spirit  of  Job's  speeches,  in  which 
the  human  conscience  asserts  its  equality  with  God  or  even  its 
.superiority  over  Him,  may  suggest  a  doubt  whether  both  concep- 


xlii  INTRODUCTION. 


tions  be  the  creation  of  the  same  author.  It  is  in  this  spirit  of 
reverence  that  EHhu  addresses  himself  to  the  refutation  of  Job's 
charges.  Hence  he  usually  meets  them  first  by  an  appeal  to  that 
which  is  "becoming"  God,  to  the  common  reverent  thoughts  of 
Him  inherent  in  the  human  mind.  To  Job's  assertion  that  God 
displayed  an  arbitrary  hostility  to  him,  he  replies,  "Nay,  God  is 
greater  than  man";  "God  is  great  and  despiseth  not  any" 
(ch.  xxxiii.  12  ;  xxxvi.  5,  cf.  xxxvi.  24 — 25,  xxxvii.  24).  But  his  whole 
contention  with  Job  is  in  defence  of  God's  righteousness  against 
his  imputations.  Having  this  great  general  object  before  him, 
Elihu  does  not  enter  much  into  Job's  circumstances.  He  makes 
a  general  question  out  of  Job's  complaints,  which  he  argues  on 
general  considerations.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  his  first 
three  speeches  (see  the  headings  to  ch.  xxxiii.  xxxiv.  xxxv.) ;  it 
is  only  in  the  last  that  his  argument  assumes  a  more  directly 
practical  tone. 

(2.)  So  far  as  Elihu's  relation  to  the  three  friends  is  concerned, 
it  is  not  easy  to  find  any  great  difference  between  his  concep- 
tions and  theirs,  or  almost  any  difference  whatever  in  principle; 
and  when  his  sharp  censure  of  the  friends  is  considered  this 
apparent  agreement  with  them  in  principle  suggests  the  question 
whether  his  speeches  have  yet  been  clearly  understood.  Per- 
haps the  explanation  may  be  that  to  the  ancient  mind  different 
details,  which  we  should  refer  to  one  principle,  may  have  seemed 
as  large  and  distinct  as  different  principles  now  do  to  us.  i. 
Elihu  agrees  with  the  three  comforters,  in  opposition  to  the 
Prologue  and  Epilogue,  in  referring  all  suffering  or  affliction  to 
sin.  He  quotes  Job's  claims  to  innocence  with  marks  of  ad- 
miration (ch.  xxxiii.  9,  10),  and  says  that  "he  adds  rebellion  to 
his  sin,"  for  which  he  was  afflicted  (ch.  xxxiv.  37).  Any  sufferings 
not  having  reference  to  sin  he  does  not  recognise.  God  afflicts, 
and  if  in  the  midst  of  affliction  there  be  an  angel  to  shew  man 
"what  is  right,"  then  He  is  gracious  and  says,  "save  from  going 
down  to  the  pit,"  and  the  ransomed  sinner  sings  before  men  and 
says,  I  sinned  and  perverted  right  (ch.  xxxiii.  23 — 27).  Again, 
in  another  passage  on  affliction,  it  is  said  that  God  "sheweth 
imto  them  their  (evil)  deed,  and  their  transgressions,  that  they 


INTRODUCTION.  xliii 


deal  proudly"  (ch.  xxxvi.  9).  2.  Elihu  agrees  with  the  friends 
further  in  insisting  on  the  rectitude  of  God,  and  on  the  principle 
that  His  dealings  with  men  everywhere  illustrate  it :  "Far  be  it 
from  God  that  He  should  do  wickedness, /^r/"//^  work  of  a  man 
shall  He  render  unto  him,  and  cause  every  one  to  find  according 
to  his  ways'''  (ch.  xxxiv.  10,  1 1).  And  if  the  prayer  of  the  righteous 
be  not  answered  it  is  because  sin  impairs  its  effect:  "None 
saith,  Where  is  God  my  Maker"  !  "Surely  God  heareth  not 
vanity"  (ch.  xxxv.  10—13).  And  again:  "He  preserveth  not  the 
life  of  the  wicked,  but  giveth  his  right  to  the  poor"  (ch,  xxxvi.  6). 
Though  Elihu  be  in  these  passages  defending  the  rectitude  of 
God  in  general,  he  nowhere  gives  any  intimation  that  he  con- 
siders affliction  employed  by  God  except  in  connexion  with  sin. 
3.  Elihu  is  certainly  also  at  one  with  the  friends  in  his  judgment 
on  Job.  Though  in  the  main  directing  his  attention  to  Job's 
demeanour  under  his  trials,  he  goes  behind  these  when  he  says 
that  Job  adds  rebellion  to  his  sin  (ch.  xxxiv.  37),  and  when  he 
represents  God's  chastisements  as  meant  to  allure  him  out  of 
the  jaws  of  distress  (ch.  xxxvi.  16).  He  no  doubt  drew  Job's 
afflictions,  for  he  must  have  explained  them  in  some  way,  under 
his  general  principle,  enunciated  in  his  last  speech,  "if  men  are 
bound  in  the  cords  of  affliction  He  sheweth  unto  them  their 
deed  and  their  transgressions,  that  they  deal  proudly"  (ch,  xxxvi. 
9).  And  he  is  equally  in  agreement  with  the  friends  in  regard 
to  the  issue  of  afflictions,  which  depends  upon  the  sufferer's 
behaviour  under  them  :  "  If  they  hear,  they  spend  their  days  in 
prosperity;  if  they  hear  not,  they  perish  by  the  sword"  (ch. 
xxxvi.  8 — 12).  4.  Finally,  Elihu  is  in  agreement  with  the  friends 
in  regarding  afflictions  as  chastisement,  inflicted  with  the 
gracious  design  of  weaning  the  sufferer  from  his  evil  (ch.  iv,  v.). 
This  is  the  great  purpose  of  God  when  speaking  to  men  by  or 
in  afflictions  :  "Lo,  all  these  things  workethGod  oftentimes  with 
man,  to  bring  back  his  soul  frotn  the  pit,  to  be  enlightened  with 
the  light  of  life"  (ch.  xxxiii.  29,  30  ;  cf.  v.  19  seq}).  If  men  are 
bound  in  the  cords  of  affliction,  God  is  shewing  them  their 
transgressions,  ajtd  commanding  them  that  they  return  from 
iniquity  (ch.  xxxvi.  8—10).     And  this  is  the  meaning  of  Job's 


xliv  INTRODUCTION. 

distresses  (ch.  xxxvi.  i6  seq.)  and  of  God's  purpose  in  them — 
"Who  is  a  teacher  like  Him"?  (ch.  xxxvi.  20 — 22). 

It  is  at  this  last  point  that  whatever  difference  exists  be- 
tween the  views  of  Ehhu  and  those  of  the  three  friends  begins 
to  appear.  The  difference  does  not  amount  to  much,  and  is  apt 
to  be  exaggerated.  Ehhu  in  propounding  his  views  has  not  the 
friends  but  Job  present  to  his  mind,  and  his  theory  of  suffering 
is  intended  to  be  set  in  contrast  with  what  he  conceives  to  be 
the  tenets  of  Job.  The  latter  had  complained  that  God  per- 
secuted him  and  counted  him  as  His  enemy  (ch.  xix.  11,  22) ; 
that  He  tore  him  in  His  anger  (ch.  xvi.  9),  and  had  resolved 
upon  his  death  (ch.  xxiii.  14,  xxx.  23);  in  other  words  he  regarded 
his  afflictions  as  the  expression  of  the  divine  wrath  and  meant 
for  his  destruction.  The  theory  of  Elihu  meets  this  view  directly 
in  the  face  :  affliction  is  the  expression  of  the  divine  goodness, 
designed  to  save  man's  soul  from  the  pit  (ch.  xxxiii.  29  seq.), 
into  which  but  for  God's  gracious  interposition  his  sins  would 
have  cast  him.  This,  however,  though  in  distinct  opposition  to 
Job's  contention,  is  virtually  what  the  friends  had  always  main- 
tained. Their  exhortations  to  Job  all  proceeded  on  the  sup- 
position that  God  was  shewing  His  mercy  towards  him,  and 
smiling  only  in  order  to  heal.  It  is  true  that  the  friends,  more 
and  more  convinced  of  Job's  sins  by  his  hardened  demeanour 
under  his  afflictions,  tend  to  drift  away  from  this  position,  and 
begin  to  express  the  fear  that  God's  final  judgment  on  him  may 
be  visible  in  his  calamities  ;  yet  they  do  not  altogether  desert  their 
first  ground,  to  which  Eliphaz  returns  in  his  last  speech  (ch.  xxii.). 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  in  one  or  two  points  Elihu  makes 
an  advance  on  the  doctrine  of  the  three.  They  appear  to  regard 
afflictions  as  always  following  sins  committed,  while  he  perhaps 
regards  them  as  sometimes  divine  warnings  to  men  against  sins 
into  which  they  are  in  danger  of  falling.  In  the  one  case  suffering 
would  be  exclusively  curative,  in  the  other  it  might  be  pre- 
ventive. This  would  certainly  widen  the  idea  of  the  friends  by 
multiplying  the  points  in  the  sinner's  life  at  which  the  divine 
interposition  through  affliction  might  fall.  The  passage,. ch.  xxxiii. 
17,  may  express  this  idea:  "that  he  may  withdraw  man  from 


INTRODUCTION.  xlv 


his  deed,  and  hide  pride  from  man"— the  deed  being  only 
meditated  or  in  danger  of  being  perpetrated.  The  words,  how- 
ever, might  bear  the  sense,  "that  man  may  put  away  a  deed"  ; 
and  in  all  the  other  passages  where  Elihu's  view  is  stated,  the 
evil  against  which  the  sinner  is  warned  by  God  appears  to  be 
already  at  least  begun.  The  term  "pride"  might  suggest  to  the 
reader  that  Elihu  has  a  more  inward  conception  of  evil  than  the 
three  friends,  that  while  they  speak  of  "sins"  he  refers  to  "sin- 
fulness" of  heart,  and  spiritual  self-confidence  and  presumption. 
There  may  be  something  in  this,  but  when  Old  Testament  phrase- 
ology is  considered  there  is  less  than  might  be  supposed.  "  Pride, 
in  the  Old  Testament,  stands  as  the  distinctive  characteristic  of 
ungodliness,  in  opposition  to  humility,  the  distinctive  trait  of 
true  piety,  nor  is  there  anything  to  shew  that  it  is  used  otherwise 
here  (ch.  xxxiii.  17).  To  'deal  proudly'  (ch.  xxxvi.  9)  is  to 
manifest  in  daring  acts  of  rebellion  against  God  the  inward 
spirit  of  resistance  to  His  will,  a  very  different  thing  from  a  vain 
conceit  of  perfect  conformity  to  it"i.  In  all  this,  therefore, 
Elihu  occupies  in  principle  the  same  ground  with  the  friends, 
and  his  views  may  be  regarded  as  the  legitimate  expansion  of 
theirs. 

In  another  point  Elihu  may  differ  from  Job's  friends.  His 
great  principle  that  afflictions  are  the  expression  of  God's  good- 
ness seems  to  be  a  universal  theory  of  providence,  embracing 
the  incidence  of  evil  both  on  the  righteous  and  the  wicked. 
This  idea  may  be  closely  connected  with  his  profoundly  reve- 
rential and  devout  conceptions  of  God.  The  point  is  not  very 
clear,  but  he  does  not  anywhere  refer  to  afflictions  which  are 
strictly  penal  and  intended  to  destroy  ;  they  become  destructive 
only  when  the  sinner  "lays  up  wrath,"  that  is,  rebels  against 
them.  The  three  friends,  while  taking  this  view  of  the  afflictions 
of  the  righteous  (ch.  iv — v),  insist  upon  a  kind  of  calamity  which 
in  its  first  purpose  is  penal  and  judicial. 

(3.)  It  has  been  seen  that  Elihu  agreed  with  the  other  speakers 
in   explaining  Job's   sufferings  by  his  sins  (ch.  xxxiv.  7,  8,  36, 

^  Conant,  Job,  Introd.  p.  xxvL. 


xlvi  INTRODUCTION. 


;^y).     In  his  reply  to  Job  there  are  two  things  to  be  noticed,  his 
arguments  in  behalf  of  the  divine  rectitude,  and  his  positive 
explanation  of  the  sufferings  that  befall  men.     The  former  are 
given  chiefly  in  ch.  xxxiv. — xxxv ,-  and  the  latter  in  ch.  xxxiii., 
xxxvi.  (see  the  headings  to  these  chapters).     His  explanation  of 
afflictions,  as  stated  above,  is  to  the  effect,  that  they  are  the 
expression  of  the  divine  goodness,  designed  to  warn  men  from 
their  sin  and  save  them  from  death.     Along  with  this  principle 
has  to  be  taken  the  very  interesting  passage  in  ch.  xxxv.,  in 
which  an  answer  is  given  to  the  difficulty  that  the  righteous 
often  cry  to  God  in  vain.     The  answer  is,  that  sin  in  them  or  in 
their  supplication  impairs  its  efficacy,  and  there  is  none  that 
answereth.     If  now  the  two  questions  be  put,  Is  this  theory  of 
affliction  and  of  unanswered  prayer  a  theory  that  will  admit  of 
universal  application  and  comprehend  every  particular?  and.  Is 
there  anything  in  what  Elihu  advances  that  ought  to  bring  Job 
to  silence  or  compose  the  troubles  of  his  heart  ?  an  affirmative 
answer  can  hardly  be  given.      The  sinfulness  of  man  is  such 
that  in  a  multitude  or  in  the  majority  of  cases  afflictions  may 
be  supposed  due  to  it,  but  the  Prologue  teaches  that  the  con- 
nexion is  not  invariable.      In  a  multitude  of  instances  prayer 
may  be  unanswered  because  the  suppliant  prays  amiss.     But  to 
say  that  this  is  always  the  case  is  extremely  harsh,  and  is  to 
measure  providence  by  a  very  narrow  gauge.     The  arguments 
uf  Elihu  just  like  those  of  the  three  friends  are  general  principles 
of  wide  application  ;    they  are  considerations  which  if  a  man 
would  weigh  them  and  apply  them  /o  JiiDisclf  would  perhaps 
prevent  such  complaints  as  those  into  which  Job  fell.      But 
when  put  forth,  as  they  are  here,  as  an  all-sufficient  measure 
of    God's  providence,   they   are    obviously   defective.      Again, 
although  the  prominence  given  by  Elihu  to  the  goodness  of 
God  when  He  afflicts  might  have  given  another  turn  to  Job's 
thoughts,  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  have  acquiesced  in 
Elihu's  view  more  than  in  that  of  the  friends.     For  both  views 
agreed  in  connecting  his  sufferings  with  his  sin,  and  Job  in- 
stinctively felt  that  he  was  not  afflicted  for  his  sin.     If  Elihu 
differs  from  the  friends  in  considering  affliction  an  instance  of 


INTRODUCTION.  xlvii 


preventing  grace,  while  they  regarded  it  as  a  medicine  intended 
to  cure,  the  difference  is  not  essential.  There  was  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  Job  meditated  evil  or  was  in  danger  of  falling  into 
it  more  than  to  suppose  that  he  was  already  guilty  of  it.  He 
would  have  resented  the  one  insinuation  as  equally  unjust  with 
the  other. 

The  arguments  that  have  been  used  to  shew  that  the  episode 
of  Elihu  did  not  form  part  of  the  original  Poem  are  chiefly  the 
following  : 

1.  That  Elihu  is  unknown  both  to  the  Trologue  and 
Epilogue. 

2.  That  Job  makes  no  reply  to  him. 

3.  That  he  addresses  Job  by  name,  and  that  his  citations 
from  the  Book  are  so  minute  as  to  betray  a  reader  of  the  Poem 
rather  than  a  listener  to  the  debate. 

4.  That  his  speeches  destroy  the  connexion  between  the 
challenge  of  Job  and  the  reply  of  the  Almighty,  and  weaken  the 
dramatic  effect  of  the  divine  manifestation. 

5.  That  the  language  of  the  piece  betrays  signs  of  de- 
terioration, marking  a  later  age  ;  and  that  both  Elihu  and  his 
speeches  are  characterized  by  a  mannerism  too  great  to  be  the 
creation  of  the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  Poem.    . 

6.  That  Elihu  virtually  occupies  the  same  ground  with  the 
friends,  and  there  is  no  probability  that  the  original  author 
would  have  created  a  fourth  speaker  to  say  in  effect  what  the 
three  had  already  said.  And  further  that  where  Elihu  differs 
from  the  friends  it  is  rather  in  deeper  reverence  and  a  some- 
what more  advanced  view  of  sin,  both  things  betraying  a  later 
age,  and  suggesting  that  the  original  Book  perplexed  pious 
minds  by  its  extraordinary  boldness. 

Some  of  these  arguments  have  little  weight,  while  others  are 
of  considerable  force. 

I.  The  argument  that  Elihu  does  not  appear  in  the  Pro- 
logue has  little  value.  The  author  introduces  the  speaker  with 
ample  details  when  he  has  need  of  him,  and  certainly  at  the 
right  place.  He  was  not  one  of  Job's  friends,  calling  for  mention 
along  with  them,  but  a  bystander.      On  the  other  hand,  it  is 


xlviii  INTRODUCTION 


remarkable  that  his  name  does  not  appear  in  the  Epilogue,  It 
is  urged  that  there  was  nothing  in  his  discourses  calling  for 
mention  :  he  did  not  discover  the  truth,  and  could  not  therefore 
be  praised;  but  his  views  being  just  so  far  as  they  went,  he 
could  not  be  included  in  the  censure  pronounced  upon  the 
three  friends.  The  answer  is  not  quite  satisfactory,  for  on 
that  point  in  regard  to  which  the  friends  are  condemned 
for  not  speaking  "that  which  was  right"  Elihu  shared  their 
opinions. 

2.  The  author  of  the  speeches  of  Elihu  certainly  means  them 
to  be  such  an  answer  to  Job  that  he  cannot  reply  to  them 
(ch.  xxxiii.  32,  xxxiv.  35,  xxxv.  16,  xxxvi.  4).  The  question  is, 
Would  the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  Poem  have  regarded  them 
as  a  conclusive  answer  to  Job.-*  This  question,  however,  runs 
into  objection  6. 

3.  There  is  not  much  weight  in  the  argument  that  Elihu 
addresses  Job  by  name,  though  the  name  of  "Job  "  is  certainly  so 
often  in  his  mouth  as  to  constitute  a  peculiarity  of  his  manner 
(ch.  xxxiii.  i,  31,  xxxiv.  5,  7,  35,  36.  &c.).  Elihu  interposes  as 
a  third  party  and  addresses  Job  or  speaks  of  him  in  distinction 
from  the  three  friends.  The  other  speakers  do  not  do  so,  for 
they  have  not  the  same  reason  ;  and  although  the  Lord  does  not 
appeal  to  Job  by  name  in  addressing  him  from  the  storm,  He 
speaks  of  "my  servant  Job"  when  He  has  to  distinguish  him 
from  the  three  friends  (ch.  xlii.  7,  8).  On  the  other  hand,  the 
full  and  verbatim  reproduction  of  Job's  words  at  the  head  of  the 
several  speeches  of  Elihu  does  suggest  that  he  was  the  reader  of 
a  book  rather  than  the  listener  to  a  debate,  though  the  argu- 
ment does  not  amount  to  much. 

4.  The  w^ords  of  the  Lord,  "Who  then  is  obscuring  counsel 
by  words  without  knowledge?"  addressed  to  Job  without  naming- 
him,  naturally  suggest  that  Job  had  just  been  speaking,  or  that 
the  divine  voice  broke  in  upon  him  before  he  had  ceased  ;  they 
are  not  natural  if  Job  had  been  long  silent,  while  another  speaker 
had  been  proceeding  with  a  discourse  extending  through  six 
chapters.  The  feeling  has  been  expressed  by  some  thoughtful 
writers  that  it  would  not  have  been  becoming  for  the  Lord  to 


INTRODUCTION.  xlix 


reply  to  Job's  challenge  without  the  intervention  of  some  pause. 
This  observation  may  be  perfectly  just,  but  it  does  not  meet  the 
point  of  the  objection,  which  is  that  the  words  of  the  Almighty 
suggest  that  the  connexion  between  His  reply  and  Job's  challenge 
was  immediate.  And  perhaps  if  the  author  allowed  Jehovah  to 
reply  to  Job  in  any  manner,  he  might  not  have  been  sensible  of 
any  incongruity  in  His  replying  immediately. 

5.  The  body  of  the  Poem,  though  undoubtedly  exhibiting 
some  Aramaisms,  is  comparatively  pure  in  language  and  lucid 
in  expression,  notwithstanding  the  obscurity  of  a  few  passages, 
in  some  of  which  the  text  may  probably  be  corrupt.  The  style 
is  terse,  nervous  and  pointed,  and  hardly  anywhere  marked  by 
such  breadth  as  to  be  enfeebled  or  become  prolix.  The  speeches 
of  Elihu  are  marked  by  a  deeper  colouring  of  Aramaic  ;  are 
frequently  very  obscure  ;  and  not  seldom  descend  almost  to  the 
level  of  prose.  The  touches  of  the  author's  hand  in  the  other 
parts  of  the  Poem,  particularly  in  the  divine  speeches,  are  easy, 
vigorous  and  graphic  ;  in  the  speeches  of  Elihu  the  figures  are 
laboured  and  the  thought  strained.  Renan  says,  not  without 
truth,  that  "  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Poem  the  obscurity  arises 
from  our  own  ignorance;  here  it  arises  from  the  style  itself"^, 
though  his  further  remark,  that  we  might  almost  believe  that 
Elihu's  speeches  belong  to  a  time  when  Hebrew  had  become  a 
dead  language,  goes  rather  far.  The  difficulties  of  other  parts 
of  the  Poem  arise  from  the  occurrence  of  words  which,  owing 
probably  to  the  small  compass  of  the  literature,  are  not  found 
again,  and  from  allusions  which  we  have  not  the  means  of 
understanding,  such  as  the  astronomical  references  in  the 
speeches  from  the  storm,  though  it  must  be  confessed  that  some 
parts  of  ch.  xxx.  are  obscure  for  other  reasons.  In  Elihu's 
speeches  there  are  not  only  unknown  words,  there  is  an  un- 
known use  of  known  words,  as  well  as  a  manner  of  joining 
familiar  words  together  to  form  phrases  which  have  no  parallel 
— in  short,  the  author  speaks  a  language  which  in  some  parts 
is  not  quite  that  of  any  other  Old  Testament  writer. 


'  Le  Livre  de  Job,  litude,  p.  54. 


1  INTRODUCTION. 

The  deeper  Aramasan  colour  has  been  supposed  intentional 
on  the  part  of  the  author,  who  makes  Elihu,  "of  the  family  of 
Ram,"  speak  a  more  decidedly  Aramcean  dialect  than  the 
others.  It  is  not  certain,  however,  that  Ram  is  the  same  as 
Aram ;  and  even  if  it  were  so,  it  is  to  ascribe  to  the  author  a  pro- 
ficiency in  the  dramatic  art  scarcely  probable  in  his  age,  to 
imagine  that  he  makes  Elihu  talk  Aramaean  as  Shakespeare 
makes  Captain  Jamy  talk  something  supposed  to  be  Scotch.  If 
this  were  the  case,  however,  the  older  dramatist  would  appear 
to  have  the  advantage  of  the  modern  one. 

The  circumstantial  way  in  which  Elihu  is  introduced  (ch. 
xxxii.  2)  is  unlike  the  curt  and  general  statements  regarding  the 
other  three  speakers  (ch.  ii.  11),  and  his  somewhat  self-con- 
fident and  boisterous  manner  of  comporting  himself  differs 
greatly  from  the  bearing  of  Job's  other  antagonists.  This  dis- 
similarity is  so  great  as  to  suggest  that  Elihu  is  the  creation  of 
a  writer  of  less  severe  taste  and  feebler  dramatic  power  than  the 
author  of  the  other  characters  manifests.  Some  of  those,  indeed, 
who  consider  Elihu  the  creation  of  the  original  author  suppose 
that  he  intended  the  character  for  a  burlesque.  But  this  is  alto- 
gether improbable.  When  we  consider  the  devout  nature  of 
Elihu,  the  purpose  which  he  sets  before  him  in  his  speeches, 
"to  ascribe  right  to  his  Maker,"  and  the  many  lofty  thoughts  to 
which  he  gives  expression  in  regard  to  God,  it  is  impossible  to 
believe  that  the  original  Poet,  unparalleled  for  religious  bold- 
ness though  he  be,  would  have  set  such  a  character  upon  the 
stage  to  play  a  burlesque  part  and  provoke  ridicule.  This  would 
have  been  to  mock  religion,  when  his  design  went  no  further 
than  to  shew  the  insufficiency  of  certain  religious  opinions 
current  among  men.  The  conclusion  to  which  these  objections 
have  led  the  majority  of  modern  writers  on  the  Book  is,  that 
the  author  of  the  Elihu  speeches  was  one  who  was  not  endowed 
with  the  brilliant  powers  of  the  writer  who  composed  the  body 
of  the  Poem,  or,  to  use  the  more  appropriate  language  of 
Delitzsch,  that  he  was  "one  whose  charisma  did  not  come  up  to 
that  of  the  older  poet." 

6.     If  the  analysis  given  above   of  the  general   meaning  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


Elihu's  speeches  be  moderately  correct,  this  objection  has  con- 
siderable force.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  in  the  three 
speakers  whom  he  introduces,  whether  the  number  three  be  his 
own  creation  or  came  down  to  him  in  the  tradition,  the  author 
found  sufficient  means  for  expressing  all  that  he  desired  to 
bring  forward  on  the  side  opposed  to  Job.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  three  friends  all  advance  one  and  the  same  opinion. 
This  would  only  shew  that  this  opinion  was  what  the  author 
intended  to  set  forth  in  its  most  persuasive  form,  with  the  view 
of  proving  that  even  when  presented  to  the  best  advantage 
it  could  not  be  sustained.  At  all  events,  a  fourth  speaker 
would  be  introduced  only  if  he  were  to  occupy  ground  entirely 
distinct  from  the  other  three.  And  it  cannot  be  said  that  Elihu 
does  so.     See  above,  p.  xlvi. 

Some  positive  arguments  have  been  presented  in  favour  of 
the  originality  of  the  speeches  of  Elihu.  It  is  argued,  for  in- 
stance, that  the  close  and  natural  connexion  between  the  last 
speech  of  Elihu  and  the  answer  of  the  Lord  from  the  storm 
appears  in  this,  that  the  rising  thunder-cloud  which  Elihu 
graphically  describes,  and  at  the  sound  from  which  his  heart 
leaps  up  out  of  its  place,  is  just  the  storm  out  of  which  Jehovah 
speaks.  If  this  were  the  case  it  might  merely  indicate  that  the 
later  writer  skilfully  took  advantage  of  the  elements  of  the 
original  poem  to  make  a  frame  to  set  his  own  piece  within.  It  is 
not  certain,  however,  that  Elihu  in  referring  to  the  storm,  has 
any  thought  of  the  storm  out  of  which  Jehovah  speaks.  If  he 
had  he  ought  to  have  closed  his  speech  with  the  description  of 
it,  but  instead  of  doing  this  he  passes  away  from  it  to  other 
celestial  marvels,  such  as  the  balancing  of  the  cloud,  the  sultry 
stillness  of  the  earth  from  the  south  wind,  the  burnished  summer 
sky  like  a  molten  mirror,  and  the  dazzling  light  in  the  clear 
heavens  (ch.  xxxvii.  i6  seq^j. 

What  is  really  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  considering 
these  speeches  a  later  insertion  is  just  one  of  the  facts  which 
has  been  adduced  to  shew  that  they  are  an  insertion,  namely 
the  opposition  between  them  and  the  Prologue.  If  Elihu  spoke 
like  the  three  friends  in  ignorance  of  the  Prologue  and  the  cause 


lii  INTRODUCTION. 


of  Job's  calamities  which  it  reveals,  his  position  is  natural. 
But  if  he  was  a  reader  of  the  Book,  the  way  in  which  he  com- 
pletely ignores  the  Prologue  with  its  view  of  affliction  and 
substitutes  a  theory  radically  different  is  extraordinary.  In  such 
a  case  his  censure  would  extend  to  the  whole  cast  of  the  Book^ 
The  motive  of  this  censure  might  be  twofold,  namely,  partly 
his  profound  conviction  of  the  sinfulness  and  presumption  of 
the  human  mind  (too  well  illustrated  in  Job's  demeanour  under 
his  afflictions),  which  made  him  dislike  the  conception  of  a 
perfectly  "  righteous  "  man  presented  in  the  Book;  and  partly 
his  exalted  idea  of  the  goodness  of  God,  which  could  not 
reconcile  itself  to  the  view  that  God  might  afflict  a  man  merely 
to  try  his  righteousness,  and  though  He  found  no  sinfulness 
in  him. 

The  question  certainly  occurs  to  any  reader  of  the  Poem 
whether  Job's  afflictions  did  not  stand  in  some  relation  to  his 
religious  state.  The  Book  itself  suggests  the  question.  When 
Job  is  represented  as  falling  into  sin,  when  he  attains  to  a  higher 
knowledge  of  God  and  a  deeper  humility,  and  when  he  is 
crowned  with  blessings  twofold  greater  than  he  enjoyed  before, 
all  through  his  afflictions  or  in  connexion  with  them,  we  can 
perceive  that  they  served  wider  purposes  than  merely  to  try. 
The  trials  of  the  righteous  are  not  mere  barren  experiments 
made  on  them  by  God  for  His  own  satisfaction,  or  that  He  may 
derive  glory  from  their  stedfastness  to  Him  to  the  confusion  of 
the  powers  of  Evil,  they  are  fruitful  of  good  to  the  minds 
of  those  who  are  tried  (Rom.  v.  3  scq.,  Jam.  i.  2,  12).  At  the 
same  time  this  view  has  not  received  much  elaboration  from  the 
author  of  the  Book,  and,  though  it  be  the  view  to  which  our 
minds  most  readily  turn,  we  must  beware,  when  constructing 
a  theory  of  the  Book,  of  giving  it  greater  prominence  than  the 
author  has  assigned  it,  and  especially  of  allowing  it  to  push  his 
idea  that  Job's  afflictions  were  a  trial  altogether  out  of  sight. 

"^  This  is  felt  by  Delitzsch,  who  characterizes  his  speeches  as  "less  a 
criticism  of  Job  than  of  the  Book  in  general."  Art.  "Hiob,"  in 
Ilerzog. 


INTRODUCTION.  liii 


4.     The  Speeches  of  the  Almighty. 

Objection  has  been  taken  to  these  speeches  as  a  whole,  and 
particularly  to  the  long  passage  which  describes  Behemoth  and 
Leviathan. 

The  passage  referred  to  may  raise  some  suspicions,  but  it 
may  be  said  with  certainty  that  the  divine  speeches  belong  to 
the  original  form  of  the  Book,  and  that  they  come  from  the  hand 
of  the  author  of  the  Prologue.  In  fact,  if  we  could  obliterate  from 
our  minds  the  dialectical  conflict  between  Job  and  his  friends, 
and  carry  with  us  nothing  but  the  general  impression  that  under 
his  prolonged  sufferings  Job  had  been  betrayed  into  sinful 
murmuring  against  God  and  doubts  of  His  righteousness  and 
impatient  demands  to  know  the  cause  of  his  afflictions,  we 
should  be  in  the  best  position  to  understand  the  divine  speeches, 
which  would  then  follow  the  Prologue  at  an  interval  occupied  by 
the  impression  produced  on  us  by  Job's  altered  demeanour. 
At  the  end  of  his  first  trial  the  author  says,  "In  all  this  Job 
sinned  not  nor  imputed  wrong  to  God"  (ch.  i.  21).  At  the  end 
of  the  second  trial  Job  says,  "We  receive  good  at  the  hand  of 
God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil?"  (ch.  ii.  10),  and  the  author 
adds,  "  In  all  this  Job  sinned  not  with  his  lips."  Job's  reverent 
thought  of  God  was  such  that  amidst  his  complete  darkness  he 
let  no  murmur  against  Him  escape  his  lips.  This  is  what  the 
author  demands  of  men  in  the  name  of  religion.  This  is  the 
idea  of  true  religion  suggested  by  the  suspicion  of  the  Satan, 
namely,  that  men  should  cleave  to  God,  from  their  sense  of  what 
God  Himself  is,  though  receiving  nothing  from  His  hand.  As 
another  sufferer  expresses  himself  in  circumstances  similar  to 
those  of  Job,  "  Nevertheless  I  am  continually  with  thee.  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  ?  and  on  earth  I  desire  nought  beside 
thee"  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  23 — 25).  The  following  chapters  exhibit  Job 
drifting  away  from  this  position  maintained  on  the  first  inci- 
dence of  his  calamities,  wrestling  with  doubts  of  God's  righte- 
ousness, and  ready  to  disown  Him,  though  ever  coming  back  to 
JOB  e 


liv  INTRODUCTION. 


Him,  and  assured  that  His  righteousness  will  yet  reveal  itself. 
It  is  the  object  of  the  divine  speeches  to  bring  Job  back  to  that 
position  which  he  was  able  to  occupy  at  the  beginning.  Obvi- 
ously, according  to  the  author's  view  of  religion,  this  could  be 
effected  by  nothing  but  a  revelation  of  God,  filling  Job's  mind 
with  such  a  sense  of  Him  that  he  should  quiet  his  heart  before 
Him,  even  amidst  the  intellectual  darkness  that  remained 
around  him.  Such  a  revelation  of  God  is  given  in  the  divine 
speeches:  "  Now  mine  eye  seeth  thee  !  " 

The  objections  that  have  been  made  to  the  long  passage  ch. 
xl.  15 — xli.  34,  describing  Behemoth  and  Leviathan,  are  briefly 
such  as  these  :  that  the  description  of  these  animals  would  have 
been  in  place  in  the  first  divine  speech  beside  the  other  animal 
pictures,  but  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  idea  of  the  second 
speech;  that  the  description  swells  the  second  speech  to  a 
length  unsuitable  to  its  object,  which  is  fully  expressed  in  ch. 
xl.  6 — 14  ;  and  that  the  minuteness  and  heaviness  of  the  repre- 
sentation betray  a  very  different  hand  from  that  which  drew 
the  powerful  sketches  in  ch.  xxxviii.,  xxxix. 

The  last-mentioned  point  is  not  without  force.  The  rapid, 
light  and  expressive  lines  of  the  former  pictures  make  them 
without  parallel  for  beauty  and  power  in  literature  ;  the  two 
hitter  belong  to  an  entirely  different  class.  They  are  typical 
specimens  of  Oriental  poems,  as  any  one  who  has  read  an 
x\.rab  poet's  description  of  his  camel  or  horse  will  feel.  These 
poets  do  not  paint  a  picture  of  the  object  for  the  eye,  they  schedule 
an  inventory  of  its  parts  and  properties.  So  the  poet  of  Levia- 
than says,  "  I  will  not  be  silent  concerning  his  parts"  (ch.  xli. 
12).  There  is  a  certain  awkwardness  in  these  words,  coming 
from  the  mouth  of  the  divine  speaker,  which  has  led  some 
scholars  to  miss  here  the  artistic  power  and  dexterity  of  the 
former  poet.  Other  Avriters,  however,  are  at  a  loss  to  find 
language  to  express  their  admiration  of  the  beauty  and  poetical 
grace  of  these  descriptions.  The  maxim,  De  gustibus,  absolves 
from  the  obligation  of  arguing  the  point. 


INTRODUCTION.  Iv 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Age  and  Authorship  of  Job. 

As  there  is  nothing  in  the  Book  which  fixes  its  date  at  once 
with  certainty,  a  great  variety  of  opinion  has  prevailed  upon  the 
question.  There  is  ahnost  no  age  of  the  world,  from  the 
patriarchal  times  down  to  the  period  after  the  Captivity,  to 
which  the  Book  has  not  been  assigned.  The  juster  concep- 
tions, however,  which  now  prevail  regarding  the  history  of 
Israel  and  the  advancement  in  the  ideas  of  the  people,  occasion- 
ed in  part  by  the  progress  of  this  history  and  accompanying  it, 
have  considerably  narrowed  the  limits  within  which  such  a  work 
can  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  appeared.  And  a  more 
careful  examination  of  the  allusions  which,  in  spite  of  the 
antique  and  patriarchal  colour  thrown  over  the  Book,  may  be 
detected  in  it  to  the  circumstances  and  events  of  later  times, 
has  still  further  reduced  the  range  of  plausible  conjecture. 
The  Book  can  hardly  have  been  written  before  the  decline  and 
fall  of  the  northern  kingdom,  nor  later  than  the  return  of  the 
exiles  of  Judah  from  Babylon. 

The  question  of  the  age  of  the  Book  must  not  be  confounded 
with  that  of  the  age  of  Job  himself  Job  is  represented  as  living 
in  the  patriarchal  times.  The  author  has  skilfully  thrown  the 
colours  of  this  age  over  his  composition  and  preserved  its 
general  features.  Thus,  though  employing  the  Israelitish  name 
Jehovah  himself,  he  allows  the  speakers  in  the  Book  to  use  the 
divine  names  peculiar  to  patriarchal  times,  as  El,  Eloah  (Arab. 
ildh,  God),  Almighty.  No  doubt  he  betrays  his  own  nationality, 
which  he  has  no  desire  to  conceal,  by  letting  the  name  Jehovah 
escape  two  or  three  times  from  the  mouth  of  Job,  in  current 


IvI  INTRODUCTION. 


formulas  into  which  the  name  entered  (ch.  i.  21,  xii.  9;  cf.  xxviii. 
28).  Again,  hke  the  great  forefathers  of  Israel,  Job  is  re- 
presented as  rich  in  cattle  and  flocks  (ch.  i.  3,  xlii.  12,  comp. 
Gen.  xii.  16,  xxiv.  35,  xxvi.  13,  xxx.  43).  In  like  manner  Job, 
the  head  of  the  family,  is  also  its  priest  and  offers  sacrifice  (ch. 
i.  5,  xlii.  8;  comp.  Gen.  xxii.  13,  xxxi.  54),  although  in  another 
place  he  is  made  to  say  of  God  that  "He  leadeth  priests  away 
stripped"  (ch.  xii,  19).  Further,  the  sacrifice  in  use  is  the 
"burnt-offering",  as  in  ancient  times,  before  the  more  developed 
ritual  in  Israel  came  into  operation.  The  great  ag^e,  too,  to 
which  Job  attains  is  patriarchal  (ch.  xlii.  16;  comp.  Gen.  xxv.  7, 
XXXV.  28),  though  Bildad  speaks  as  if  the  age  of  men  of  his  day 
was  greatly  reduced  in  comparison  with  former  standards  (ch. 
viii.  8).  The  money  referred  to  is  the  ancient  kesitah  (ch.  xlii. 
II;  comp.  Gen.  xxxiii.  19,  Josh.  xxiv.  32);  and  the  musical 
instruments  named  are  the  simple  ones  of  primitive  times  (ch. 
xxi.  12,  xxx.  31 ;  comp.  Gen.  iv.  21,  xxxi.  27).  And,  to  mention 
no  more,  historical  allusions  of  any  directness  are  usually  to 
the  great  events  of  the  patriarchal  world  (ch.  xviii.  15,  xxii.  15 

Nevertheless,  the  features  of  the  author's  own  time  may  often 
be  perceived  beneath  this  patriarchal  disguise.  Job  betrays 
familiarity  with  the  Law,  or  at  least  with  the  social  customs  and 
moral  ideas  of  Israel.  When  he  refers  in  his  speeches  to 
pledges  (ch.  xxiv.  9,  see  on  xxii.  6),  and  to  landmarks  (ch.  xxiv. 
2;  comp.  Deut.  xix.  14,  xxvii.  17,  Hos.  v.  10,  Prov.  xxii.  28,  xxiii. 
10) ;  or  when  he  alludes  to  judicial  procedure  against  those 
guilty  of  special  forms  of  idolatry,  such  as  adoration  of  the  sun 
and  moon  (ch.  xxxi.  26,  comp.  Deut.  iv.  ig,  xvii.  3 — 7,  Ezek.  viii. 
16),  or  against  those  guilty  of  adultery  (ch.  xxxi.  9,  comp.  Deut. 
xxii.  22),  the  voice  is  the  voice  of  a  godly  child  of  Israel 
although  the  hands  may  be  those  of  a  son  of  Edom.  The 
allusions  to  judicial  practices  found  only  as  legal  enact- 
ments in  Deuteronomy  arc  remarkable.  There  is  even  verbal 
coincidence  in  the  two  passages,  ch.  xxxi.  26  and  Deut.  iv.  19; 
and  those  who  consider  Deuteronomy  a  late  book  might  feel 
justified  in  fixing  the  eighteenth  year  of  Josiah  (620)  as  the 


INTRODUCTION.  Ivii 


point  above  which  the  composition  of  Job  cannot  be  carried  ^ 
At  all  events  there  is  abundant  evidence  to  shew  that  the  age 
assigned  to  Job  and  the  age  of  the  author  of  the  Book  lie  widely 
apart.  The  statements  of  Renan  that  "not  one  allusion  is  made 
to  Mosaic  customs,  nor  to  beliefs  peculiar  to  the  Jews,"  that 
"  the  atmosphere  of  the  Book  is  not  more  specially  Hebrew 
than  Idumean  or  Ishmaelite,"  and  that  "in  a  very  real  sense 
these  precious  pages  have  transmitted  to  us  an  echo  of  the 
ancient  wisdom  of  Teman^",  are  exaggerations  and  part  of  the 
romance  with  which  this  brilliant  writer  delights  to  invest  the 
sacred  subjects  which  he  treats.  The  author  of  Job  is  a  true 
Israelite,  and  betrays  himself  to  be  so  at  every  turn,  however 
wide  his  sympathies  be  with  the  life  of  other  peoples,  and  how- 
ever great  his  power  of  reanimating  the  past.  The  idea  that 
the  Poem  is  a  production  of  the  Desert,  written  in  another 
tongue  and  translated  into  Hebrew,  is  more"  than  destitute  of  a 
shadow  of  probability,  it  is  absurd.  The  Book  is  the  genuine 
outcome  of  the  religious  life  and  thought  of  Israel,  the  product 
of  a  religious  knowledge  and  experience  possible  among  no 
other  people. 

The  date  of  such  a  Book  as  Job,  which  deals  only  with  re- 
ligious ideas  and  general  questions  of  providence,  and  contains 
no  direct  allusions  to  the  events  of  history,  can  be  fixed  only 
approximately.  Any  conclusion  on  the  subject  can  be  reached 
only  by  an  induction  founded  on  matters  that  do  not  afford 
perfect  certainty,  such  as  the  comparative  development  of 
certain  moral  ideas  in  different  ages;  the  pressing  claims  of 
certain  problems  for  solution  at  particular  epochs  of  the  history 
of  the  people ;  points  of  contact  which  the  Book  may  offer  with 
other  writings  the  age  of  which  may  with  more  certainty  be 
determined ;  and  indirect  allusions  which  may  betray  a  con- 
dition of  the  national  life  known  to  be  that  of  a  particular 
period  of  its  history.     These  are  all  lines  of  reasoning  more  or 

^  Comp.  Job  ii.  7  with  Deut.  xxviii.  35  ;  v.  14  with  xxviii.  2g;  v.  18 
with  xxxii.  39;  vii.  4  with  xxviii.  67;  viii.  8  with  iv.  32;  xx.  4  with 
iv.  32. 

^  Le  Livre  de  Job,  Etude,  p.  16,  27. 


Iviii  INTRODUCTION. 


less  precarious.  Only  when  several  of  them  unite  in  pointing 
to  the  same  result  can  we  feel  much  confidence  in  its  justness. 
The  comparison  of  passages  in  different  books  is  apt  to  be 
rather  barren  of  fruit.  There  is  such  a  general  unity  of  thought 
and  language  pervading  the  books  of  Scripture  that  similar  ex- 
pressions or  even  identical  phraseology  in  two  writers  cannot  in 
all  cases  be  held  evidence  of  literary  dependence.  The  writers 
of  Scripture  are  for  the  most  part  men  of  the  people  and  speak 
the  popular  language,  and  the  same  phrase  in  several  books 
may  be  original  in  them  all.  And  even  when  we  cannot  escape 
the  conviction  that  there  is  dependence,  it  is  usually  very  dif- 
ficult to  decide  which  is  the  original  and  which  the  imitator. 
The  argument,  on  the  other  hand,  founded  on  the  connexion  of 
the  thought  and  literature  of  Israel  with  the  successive  develop- 
ments of  its  history,  though  still  a  delicate  one,  is  more  solid. 
The  mind  of  the  people  was  intensely  national,  and  the  spirit  of 
its  literature  is  for  the  most  part  national  rather  than  individual. 
This  is  no  doubt  less  true  of  the  poetry  and  the  wisdom.  But 
the  truth  holds  even  of  a  very  great  part  of  the  poetry,  it 
reflects  the  consciousness  of  the  nation  ;  and  it  holds  of  the 
wisdom  to  this  extent,  that  the  vicissitudes  of  the  people's 
history  suggested  the  successive  aspects  under  which  the 
questions  reflected  on  by  the  Wise  presented  themselves  to 
their  minds. 

The  opinion  expressed  in  the  Talmud,  and  followed  by  some 
writers,  that  Moses  was  the  author  of  Job  is  unworthy  of  any 
attention.  The  thin  antique  colour  of  the  Book  suggested  to 
uncritical  minds  that  it  was  an  ancient  composition,  and  such 
minds,  impatient  of  uncertainty,  everywhere  seek  to  satisfy  them- 
selves by  ascribing  any  great  anonymous  work  to  some  well-known 
name.  But  the  conjecture  is  more  than  improbable.  It  is  the 
part  of  the  founder  of  a  constitution  like  Moses  to  project  prin- 
ciples and  ideas  which  are  of  general  truth,  and  to  sketch  an 
outline  which  succeeding  ages  may  be  left  to  fill  up ;  it  is 
scarcely  his  part  to  subject  the  general  principles  upon  which 
his  constitution  is  founded  to  questionings  which  would  under- 
mine them,  or  to  introduce  alongside  of  them  the  modifications 


INTRODUCTION.  lix 


which  future  generations  or  society  in  altered  conditions  may 
find  needful  to  make  on  them.  Neither  the  author  of  the  Law 
which  describes  God  as  "  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  "  (Ex. 
XX.  5),  nor  any  of  his  contemporaries  was  likely  to  have  written 
the  words  of  Job  (ch.  xxi.  19), 

God  (say  ye)  layeth  up  his  iniquity  for  his  children. — 
Let  Him  recompense  it  unto  himself  that  he  may  know  it ; 
Let  his  own  eyes  see  his  destruction. 

The  principle  enunciated  in  the  Law  may  have  raised  difficulties 
in  some  minds  at  an  early  time,  but  the  first  expression  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  it  in  any  composition  to  which  we  can  assign 
a  date  appears  in  the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah  (ch.  xxxi.  29 ; 
comp.  Ezek.  xviii.  2). 

The  centuries  after  the  Exodus  down  to  the  end  of  the  reign 
of  David,  times  of  stirring  enterprize  and  warfare  and  conquest, 
were  not  favourable  for  the  production  of  a  work  of  deep  re- 
flection like  Job.  Nor,  in  spite  of  the  repeated  humiliations 
to  which  the  nation  was  subjected  in  those  ages,  can  the  spirit 
of  the  people  ever  have  sunk  to  that  state  of  exhaustion  and 
despair  which  appears  in  this  Book.  There  is  evidence  too  in 
the  Poem  that  the  author  was  familiar  with  some  of  the  wri- 
tings usually  ascribed  to  the  Davidic  age.  There  is  a  distorted 
reflection  of  the  ideas  of  Ps.  viii.  in  the  passage  ch.  vii.  17,  which 
is  scarcely  due  to  Coincidence. 

The  earliest  period  to  which  the  Book  can  be  assigned  with 
any  propriety  is  the  age  of  Solomon.  A  good  many  general 
considerations  suggest  this  period.  Unless  history  and  tra- 
dition are  to  be  alike  discredited  (i  Kings  iv.  29  scq.)  a  strong 
current  of  thought  sprang  up  in  this  age  in  the  direction  of 
reflexion  upon  human  life  and  the  laws  of  man's  well-being, 
upon  God  and  the  ways  in  which  His  providence  rules  the 
destinies  of  men.  These  are  the  questions  which,  in  a  par- 
ticular form,  are  discussed  in  Job.  Again,  it  was  at  this  period 
that  Israel  became  to  some  extent  a  commercial  people,  and 
entered  into  relations  with  distant  lands,  with  Egypt,  the  farther 
East  and   even   the   West ;    and   these   relations  might  seem 


Ix  INTRODUCTION. 


reflected  in  many  allusions  in  the  Book,  the  author  of  which 
is  familiar  with  foreign  countries  and  their  products,  with  the 
arts  and  customs  of  many  strange  peoples,  and  draws  his  illus- 
trations from  many  distant  sources.  These  considerations  have 
led  a  number  of  writers  of  distinction,  such  as  Delitzsch,  to 
conclude  that  the  Book  is  a  production  of  this  age  ;  and  such 
appears  to  have  been  the  view  of  Luther. 

If,  however,  we  examine  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  much  in 
which  may  be  referred  to  the  age  of  Solomon,  particularly  the 
sayings  in  ch.  x. — xxii.,  though  much  even  in  this  division  may 
be  later,  we  find  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  problems  and  ques- 
tionings that  fill  the  Book  of  Job.  The  same  general  subjects 
are  treated  in  both  books,  but  in  Job  they  have  entered  upon 
a  new  phase.  In  Proverbs  the  teaching  on  God's  providence 
is  still  entirely  positive.  The  law  stated  with  such  beauty  and 
simplicity  in  Ps.  i.,  that  it  is  well  with  the  righteous  and  ill  with 
the  wicked,  is  insisted  on  in  a  thousand  forms,  but  not  once 
subjected  to  doubt.  In  the  settled,  well-ordered  life  of  Israel 
in  this  peaceful  time  the  general  principles  of  man's  well-being 
were  receiving  their  brightest  illustration,  and  it  was  the  delight 
of  the  wise  to  recognise  them  and  give  them  expression  in 
compressed  and  pohshed  aphorisms.  Such  problems  as  burn 
in  the  pages  of  Job,  the  miseries  of  the  just,  the  prosperity  and 
peaceful  end  of  the  ungodly,  appear  unknown.  They  were  not 
likely  to  attract  men's  attention  at  such  a  time.  Only  later, 
when  the  state  began  to  stagger  under  the  blows  which  it 
received  from  without,  and  when  through  revolution  and  civil 
discord  at  home  great  and  unmerited  sufferings  befell  the  best 
citizens  in  the  state,  would  such  problems  arise,  or  at  least 
present  themselves  with  an  urgency  which  demanded  some 
solution.  It  is  only  in  those  parts  of  Proverbs  which  are  later 
than  the  great  central  division  that  we  find  allusion  to  disquie- 
tude occasioned  to  the  righteous  by  the  prosperity  of  the  un- 
godly, and  even  these  references  are  slight ;  the  difficulty  hardly 
engages  a  moment's  attention  (Pro v.  iii.  ii,  31,  xxiii.  17  scq.; 
xxiv.  19). 

The  relation  of  Job  to  most  parts  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixi 

is  close  1.  The  elements  of  that  Book  probably  belong  to 
different  ages.  Part  of  it  at  least  was  not  published  earlier  than 
the  days  of  Hezekiah  (ch.  xxv.  seq.) ;  and  the  first  division, 
ch.  i. — ix.,  though  its  date  may  be  difficult  to  determine  with 
exactness,  can  hardly  be  earlier  than  this  age,  if  so  early.  But 
even  this  division  as  well  as  the  central  portion,  ch.  x. — xxii.,  ap- 
pears to  be  anterior  to  the  Book  of  Job.  A  pair  of  instances  may 
suffice  as  examples.  In  Prov.  xiii.  9  we  read,  "  the  lamp  of  the 
wicked  shall  be  put  out " ;  and  the  same  formula  appears  again 
in  another  division,  ch.  xxiv.  20.  The  principle  is  stated  in  all 
its  generality,  and  nowhere  modified  in  the  Book.  In  this  form 
it  continues  to  be  upheld  by  Bildad,  the  representative  in  Job 
of  theories  of  Providence  which  the  author  considers  cannot 
any  longer  be  maintained  (ch.  xviii.  6).  Job,  therefore,  comes 
clean  athwart  it  with  his  demand  (ch.  xxi.  17), 

How  often  is  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  put  out? 
And  how  often  cometh  their  destruction  upon  them? 

Again  in  Prov.  i. — ix.  Wisdom  earnestly  presses  herself  upon 
men  :  she  loves  them  that  love  her.  Even  when  she  rises  to 
the  highest  conception  of  herself  as  architect  of  the  world  she 
still  offers  herself  to  men  and  may  be  embraced  by  them  (ch.  viii. 
32).  But  the  speaker  in  Job  xxviii.  despairs  of  wisdom  :  it  can 
nowhere  be  found,  neither  in  the  land  of  the  living  nor  in  the 
place  of  the  dead,  neither  by  man  nor  by  any  creature.  The 
divine  thought  in  creation,  the  world-plan,  effectuating  itself 
in  nature  and  human  life,  lies  beyond  the  intellectual  reach  of 
man.  Two  such  opposing  representations  can  hardly  be  con- 
temporaneous ;  that  in  Job  shews  an  approach  towards  the 
position  taken  by  the  Preacher  (Eccles.  iii.  11),  and  is  no  doubt 
the  later  of  the  two.  Great  difficulty,  it  is  true,  has  been  felt  in 
fitting  ch.  xxviii.  into  the  Book,  and  it  may  belong  to  a  time 
somewhat  further  down.     But  even  in  Job  xv.  8  seg.  the  per- 

1  Comp.  Job  V.  17  with  Prov.  iii.  11  ;  xi.  8  with  ix.  18;  xv.  7  with 
viii.  25;  xviii.  6  and  xxi.  17  with  xiii.  9  and  xxiv.  20;  xxii.  28  with  iv. 
18;  xxviii.  x8  with  iii.  14  and  viii.  11  ;  xxviii.  28  with  i.  7  ;  xxxviii.  10 
with  viii.  29.  There  are  also  some  peculiar  terms  common  to  the  two 
books;  see  Davidson's  Introduction,  Vol.  il.  p.  193. 


Ixii  INTRODUCTION. 


sonification  of  Wisdom  in  Prov.  viii.  seems  alluded  to,  or  at 
least  there  is  allusion  to  personifications  similar.  Such  personi- 
fications mark  the  highest  point  to  which  Hebrew  thought  on 
the  world  rose,  and  cannot  belong  to  an  early  age.  Wisdom, 
pausing  in  the  work  of  expounding  providence  and  the  laws  of 
human  happiness,  which  she  had  long  instinctively  pursued 
with  self-forgetful  fascination  in  her  task,  becomes  self-con- 
scious, and,  turning  her  eyes  upon  herself,  displays  her  own 
graces  and  beauty  before  the  eyes  of  men.  They  who  attain  to 
her  and  live  as  she  directs  attain  to  the  thought  of  God  Himself 
and  fulfil  His  purpose ;  human  thought  and  life  coincides  with 
or  even  coalesces  in  the  divine  thought  and  will.  In  Proverbs  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  in  Job  xxviii.  it  is 
all  the  wisdom  possible  to  man. 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  remarks  just  made  would  lead  is 
that  the  Book  of  Job  cannot  be  assigned  to  an  earlier  date  than 
the  7th  century.  The  coincidences  between  the  Book  and  the 
earlier  prophets  are  not  very  conclusive,  though  perhaps  they 
confirm  the  inference  just  drawn.  The  phraseology  in  several 
passages  is  so  similar  to  that  in  Amos  that  some  have  con- 
cluded that  the  author  like  this  prophet  was  a  native  of  the  south 
of  Judah^ ;  but  the  similarities  hardly  justify  any  inference  as  to 
the  priority  of  either  book.  The  same  may  be  said  of  most  of 
the  coincidences  between  Job  and  the  prophets  Hosea  and 
Isaiah.  The  passage  Is.  xix.  5,  however,  compared  with  Job 
xiv.  II,  perhaps  affords  some  evidence  of  the  priority  of  Isaiah. 
In  Job  the  verse  reads, 

The  waters  fail  from  the  sea, 

And  the  stream  decayeth  and  drieth  up ; 

and  in  Isaiah,  "and  the  waters  shall  fail  from  the  sea,  and  the 
stream  shall  decay  and  dry  up."  In  the  prophet  the  "sea"  is 
the  Nile,  and  the  "stream"  the  same  or  its  larger  branches,  and 
the  verse  is  closely  connected  with  the  context,  which  contains  a 
threat  against  Egypt.     In  Job  the  term  "sea"  is  used  of  any 

^  Stickel,  Hiob,  p.  263.  Comp.  Job  ix.  8  with  Am.  iv.  13;  ix.  g 
with  V.  8;  xii.  15  with  ix.  6;  xviii.  16  with  ii.  9;  xxx.  31  with 
viii.  10. 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixiii 


inland  water,  and  the  words  are  made  to  express  a  general  fact 
of  experience,  which  finds  a  parallel  in  the  complete  extinction 
of  the  life  of  man.  In  Isaiah  the  term  rendered  "fail"  is  some- 
what unusual,  while  in  Job  there  stands  for  "fail"  a  word  which, 
though  not  greatly  more  in  use  in  the  Bible,  would  certainly  be 
much  more  common  in  the  mouths  of  the  people  in  the  later 
period  of  their  history  i. 

The  most  weighty  arguments,  however,  for  assigning  the 
Book  to  an  age  not  earlier  than  the  yth  century  are  the  two 
facts,  closely  related  together,  first,  that  questions  of  providence 
have  entered  upon  a  new  phase  :  its  laws  are  no  longer  calmly 
expounded  but  subjected  to  doubt ;  from  being  principles  se- 
curely acquiesced  in  they  have  become  problems  painfully 
agitated  ;  and  secondly,  that  a  condition  of  great  disorder  and 
misery  forms  the  background  of  the  Poem.  These  two  circum- 
stances naturally  go  together,  and  they  both  point  to  the  same 
comparatively  late  period.  Even  in  some  of  the  Psalms  which 
treat  of  these  questions  the  "ungodly"  oppressor,  whose  felicity 
occasions  disquietude  to  the  religious  mind  (comp.  Job  xii.  6), 
is  probably  the  heathen  conqueror.  But  these  shorter  pieces  in 
all  likelihood  preceded  in  time  the  more  elaborate  treatment  to 
which  such  problems  are  subjected  in  Job.  But  the  situation 
reflected  in  these  pieces  and  in  Job  alike  is  one  of  suffering  and 
despondency.  When  we  read  such  words  as,  "Wherefore  giveth 
He  hfe  to  the  bitter  in  soul,  who  long  for  death  and  it  cometh 
not,  and  search  for  it  more  than  for  hid  treasures  ?"  (ch.  iii.  20) ; 
"  Is  there  not  a  time  of  hard  service  to  man  upon  the  earth  ? 
are  not  his  days  also  like  the  days  of  an  hireling?"  (ch.  vii.  i) ; 
"  The  earth  is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked  :  he  covereth 
the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof"  (ch.  ix.  24) ;  "  The  tabernacles  of 
robbers  prosper,  and  they  that  provoke  God  are  secure,  they 
who  carry  their  god  in  their  hand"  (ch.  xii.  6  ;  cf.  Hab.  i.  1 1,  16)  ; 
"Out  of  the  city  the  dying  groan,  and  the  soul  of  the  wounded 
crieth  out,  yet  God  regardeth  not  the  wrong"  (ch.  xxiv.  12) — we 
feel  that  the  points  in  the  picture  are  too  distinct  and  in  too 

^  Other   siniilarities  are  Job  xii.  24  with  Is.  xix.  13;  xvii.  12  with 
V.  20. 


Ixiv  INTRODUCTION. 


full  relief  to  be  the  mere  reflection  of  the  gloom  that  hangs  over 
the  mind  of  the  sufferer  even  in  an  ordinary  condition  of  society. 
The  passage  ch.  xii.  1 7  seq.  is  remarkable, 

He  leadeth  counsellers  away  strij)pccl, 

And  maketh  the  judges  fools. 

He  looseth  llie  bond  of  kings, 

And  girdeth  their  loins  with  a  girdle. 

He  leadeth  priests  away  stripped, 

And  overthroweth  the  long-established  caste,  &c. 

Such  a  passage  might  have  been  written  by  an  eyewitness  of 
the  captivity,  or  as  Job  says  that  he  learned  such  details  from 
"ancient"  men  (ch.  xii.  12),  it  might  have  been  written  by  one 
who  had  heard  the  harrowing  events  of  that  time  described  by 
one  who  had  himself  seen  them.  Behind  the  author's  time  there 
probably  lay  some  great  public  calamity,  which  reduced  multi- 
tudes of  men  to  a  wretchedness  more  unendurable  than  death, 
and  forced  the  questions  of  evil  and  the  righteousness  of  God 
upon  men's  minds  with  an  urgency  that  could  not  be  resisted. 
Such  a  calamity  could  be  nothing  short  of  deportation  or  exile. 
The  question  remains  whether  it  was  the  exile  of  the  northern 
nation  or  of  Judah. 

Some  writers,  as  Hitzig,  think  that  the  author  of  Job,  from  his 
bold  handling  of  questions  of  providence,  must  have  belonged 
to  the  northern  kingdom,  where  the  attitude  of  men's  minds 
towards  religion  was  freer.  There  is  not,  perhaps,  much  in 
this  ;  but  some  of  the  ablest  writers  on  the  Book,  such  as 
Ewald,  connect  it  more  or  less  closely  with  the  fall  of  the 
northern  state.  This  judgment  might  be  acquiesced  in  at  once 
were  there  not  several  things  which  suggest  the  question  whether 
the  Book  may  not  rather  reflect  the  circumstances  of  the  Baby- 
lonian Captivity.  These  points  briefly  are  :  (i)  the  extremely 
developed  form  both  of  the  morality  and  the  doctrine  of  God  in 
the  Book  ;  (2)  the  points  of  contact  which  it  presents  with  Jere- 
miah and  the  ideas  of  his  age  ;  and  (3)  the  strange  parallel 
existing  between  Job  and  the  "  Servant  of  the  Lord "  in  the 
second  part  of  Isaiah. 

The  first  point  can  hardly  be  drawn  out  in  detail,  but  the 
teaching  of  Eliphaz  regarding  human  nature  (ch.  iv.  17  seq.)  and 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixv 

the  inwardness  of  the  moral  conceptions  of  Job  (ch.  xxxi.)  are 
very  surprising.  The  doctrine  of  God  is  much  the  same  in 
principle  throughout  the  whole  Old  Testament,  the  later  writers 
differing  from  the  earlier  more  in  the  breadth  with  which  they 
express  the  common  conceptions.  In  Job  these  conceptions  are 
expressed  with  a  breadth  and  loftiness  without  parallel,  except 
in  the  second  part  of  Isaiah  and  some  of  the  later  psalms  (e.g. 
Ps.cxxxix.).  It  is  true  it  is  chiefly  what  might  be  called  the  natural 
attributes  of  God  that  are  dwelt  upon,  and  this  has  created  in 
some  minds  the  feeling  that  the  God  of  the  Book  of  Job  is  not 
the  God  of  the  Old  Testament  ^  He  is  certainly  without  some 
of  the  attributes  ascribed  to  Him  in  such  prophets  as  Hosea  and 
the  later  chapters  of  Isaiah.  He  is  God  and  not  man — so  en- 
tirely not  man  that  He  seems  not  altogether  God.  The  author's 
conception  of  God  is  austere  and  lofty,  and  we  readily  under- 
stand how  its  features  in  a  particular  light  cast  that  spectral 
shadow  before  Job's  eye  which  he  calls  God  and  which  he  is  in 
danger  of  renouncing. 

Apart  from  the  Psalms,  the  date  of  which  is  uncertain,  the 
problems  discussed  in  Job  first  shew  themselves  in  the  prophets 
of  the  Chaldean  age.  Jeremiah  says,  "Let  me  talk  with  thee  of 
thy  judgments :  wherefore  doth  the  way  of  the  wicked  prosper? 
wherefore  are  all  they  happy  that  deal  very  treacherously?" 
(ch.  xii.  I ;  cf.  Hab.  i.  13  seq.).  Similarly,  the  other  question  of 
visiting  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  occupies  the 
minds  of  the  people  (Jer.  xxxi.  29 ;  Ezek.  xviii.).  The  histor}-^  of 
the  nation  and  its  sufferings  forced  these  questions  on  the 
attention,  and  there  is  a  certain  probability  that  a  Book  like 
Job  devoted  to  their  discussion  is  the  creation  of  this  time. 
The  parallels  in  thought  and  language  between  Job  and 
Jeremiah  are  numerous,  but  they  strike  different  minds  very 
differently.  Most  writers  have  felt  that  Job  iii.  and  Jer.  xx.  14 
seq.  are  not  altogether  independent  of  one  another,  but  the 
question  of  priority  is  difficult  to  settle.  The  argument  that  the 
passage  in  Job  is  fresher,  more  vivid  and  powerful,  and  there- 
fore the  original  has  little  force.  The  author  of  Job  was  cer- 
^  Luzzatto,  quoted  in  Del. 


Ixvi  INTRODUCTION. 

tainly  a  greater  literary  artist  than  Jeremiah,  as  Shakespeare 
was  superior  to  the  earlier  dramatists  whose  materials  he  used, 
but  the  possible  analogy  neutralizes  the  argument  for  priority. 
If  the  author  of  Job  used  Is.  xix.  5,  as  is  probable,  he  has  recast 
some  of  the  expressions  into  the  more  strict  poetical  form,  and 
he  may  have  dealt  with  the  language  of  the  other  prophet  in  the 
same  way.  Job  iii.  is  highly  elaborate  and  finished,  while  the 
impression  which  the  passage  in  Jeremiah  makes  on  the  reader, 
just  on  account  of  its  disjointed  character  and  defect  in  literary 
grace,  is  that  it  is  independent.  The  strong  positive  state- 
ments in  Ezekiel  that  "the  soul  that  sinneth  shall  die",  and 
that  the  children  shall  no  more  be  visited  for  their  fathers' 
iniquity,  might  seem  to  imply  that  the  question  had  advanced  a 
stage  beyond  that  of  debate  in  which  it  appears  in  Job.  This 
is  less  certain,  because  it  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  Book  of  Job 
that  all  its  new  truths  are  presented  through  the  medium  of 
controversial  dialogued 

The  affinity  of  the  Book  of  Job  to  Is.  ch.  xl.  scq.  is  remark- 
able, and  appears  in  two  points,  coincidences  of  expression  and 
thought,  and  the  parallel  between  the  figure  of  Job  and  that  of 
the  Servant  of  the  Lord.  Thus  the  same  lofty  conception  of 
God  is  expressed  in  both  in  identical  words,  ivho  sprcaddh  out 
the  heavens  alo7ie  (ch.  ix.  8,  Is.  xliv.  24;  cf  xlv.  12).  Again 
comp.  ch.  xxvi.  12 — 13,  "He  quelleth  the  sea  with  His  power, 
and  by  His  understanding  He  smiteth  through  Rahab,"  with 
Is.  li.  9,  "Art  thou  not  it  which  hath  cut  Rahab  and  pierced 
the  dragon?"  Compare  also  Job  xiii.  28  with  Is.  1.  9;  xv.  35 
with  hx.  4;  XXX.  21  with  Ixiii.  10.  These  similarities  of  phraseo- 
logy might  be  due  to  dependence  of  the  one  writer  upon  the 
other.  There  are,  however,  many  conceptions  common  to  the 
two  writers  not  expressed  in  the  same  phraseology,  and  the 
more  probable  explanation  is  that  they  lived  surrounded  by  the 
same  atmosphere  of  thought. 

1  Comp.  Job  iii.  with  Jer.  xx.  14;  vi.  15  wltli  xv.  18;  ix.  19  with 
xlix.  19  (Is.  1.  8);  xii.  4  with  xx.  7  ;  xix.  23  with  xvii.  i  ;  Job  xix.  18 
with  Lam.  iii.  15  ;  xvi.  9  with  iii.  46  ;  xvi.  13  with  iii.  12  ;  xix.  8  with 
iii.  7  ;  XXX.  9  with  iii.  14. 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixvil 


The  similarities  between  the  figure  of  Job  and  that  of  the 
Servant  are  numerous  and  striking.  Both  are  innocent  suf- 
ferers— "my  servant  Job,  a  perfect  and  upright  man"  (Job  i.  8), 
"my  righteous  servant"  (Is.  hii.  ii) ;  both  are  afflicted  in  a  way 
that  strikes  horror  into  the  beholders,  and  causes  them  to  deem 
them  smitten  of  God  (Is.  lii.  14,  liii.  /Sf,]oh  passim);  both  are 
forsaken  of  men  and  subjected  to  mockery  and  spitting  (Job 
xix.  4  seq.,  xvi.  10,  xxx.  9  seq. ;  Is.  1.  6,  liii.  3) ;  both  are  restored 
and  glorified  and  receive  "double",  as  they  both  continued 
faithful,  assured  that  He  was  near  that  should  justify  them 
(Job  xiii.  18,  xvi.  19,  xix.  25  ;■  Is.  1.  8).  The  points  of  agreement 
might  be  greatly  multiplied  1,  and,  notwithstanding  the  important 
differences  in  the  two  representations,  they  suggest  some  relation 
between  the  two  figures.  The  difficulty  is  to  ascertain  whether 
the  relation  be  one  of  similarity  merely  or  of  identity.  If  Job 
were  the  type  of  the  righteous  individual  sufferer  or  of  the  class 
of  individuals,  and  the  servant  the  sufi'ering  righteous  Israel,  that 
is,  the  godly  remnant  to  which  the  nationality  and  name  be- 
longed, seeing  these  two  subjects  are  virtually  the  same  under 
different  conceptions,  the  author  of  the  one  picture  might  have 
transferred  some  features  from  the  canvas  of  his  predecessor  to 
his  own  2.  The  probability  is  as  great  that  the  two  authors 
worked  up  common  conceptions  into  independent  creations; 
and  there  are  many  parts  of  Job  that  appear  to  reflect  national 
feeling  and  conditions,  though  of  course  the  author  could  not 
allow  the  formal  conception  of  the  nation  to  appear. 

The  question  enters  a  region  here  which  is  not  that  of 
argument  but  of  impressions ;  but  upon  the  whole  probabilities 
point  to  the  age  of  the  captivity  of  Judah  as  that  to  which  the 
Book  belongs. 

^  See  Dr  Cheyne's  interesting  Essay,  Isaiah,  il.  p.  344.  Kuenen 
has  an  exhaustive  paper  on  the  subject  in  the  Theolog.  TijJs.,  1873. 

"  This  is  the  later  opinion  of  Kuenen,  who  considers  that  the  col- 
lective or  national  representation  in  Isaiah  has  served  in  some  resi:)ects 
as  the  model  of  the  individual  portrait  in  Job.  In  this  case  Job  would 
be  later  than  the  Restoration.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  believe  that 
the  solution  of  the  problem  of  suffering  innocence  given  in  Job  could  be 
posterior  to  the  more  profound  solution  found  in  the  prophet. 


Ixviii  INTRODUCTION. 


As  to  the  Author  of  the  Book  we  are  in  complete  ignorance. 
He  has  been  supposed  to  be  Job  himself,  Elihu,  Moses, 
Solomon,  Heman  the  Ezrahite,  author  of  Ps.  Ixxxviii.,  Isaiah, 
Hezekiah,  author  of  the  hymn  Is.  xxxviii.,  Baruch  the  friend  of 
Jeremiah,  and  who  not?  There  are  some  minds  that  cannot 
put  up  with  uncertainty,  and  are  under  the  necessity  of  deluding 
themselves  into  quietude  by  fixing  on  some  known  name. 
There  are  others  to  whom  it  is  a  comfort  to  think  that  in  this 
omniscient  age  a  few  things  still  remain  mysterious.  Un- 
certainty is  to  them  more  suggestive  than  exact  knowledge.  No 
literature  has  so  many  great  anonymous  works  as  that  of  Israel. 
The  religious  life  of  this  people  was  at  certain  periods  very 
intense,  and  at  these  periods  the  spiritual  energy  of  the  nation 
expressed  itself  almost  impersonally,  through  men  who  forgot 
themselves  and  were  speedily  forgotten  in  name  by  others. 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOB. 

THERE  was  a  man  in  the  land  of  Uz,  whose  name  laas  1 
Job;  and  that  man  was  perfect  and  upright,  and  one 

Ch.  I.  1 — 3.    Job's  name  and  abode  ;  nis  piety,  and  conse- 
quent  FAMILY   FELICITY  AND  WORLDLY   PROSPERITY. 

1.  the  land  of  Uz\  This  word  occurs  several  times  in  the  Old 
Testament:  (i)  as  the  name  of  a  son  of  Aram,  Gen.  x.  23 ;  (2)  as  the 
name  of  the  eldest  son  of  Nahor,  the  brother  of  Abraham,  Gen.  xxii.  21 ; 
and  (3)  as  that  of  a  descendant  of  Seir,  Gen.  xxxvi.  2S.  These  re- 
ferences would  point  either  to  Syria  on  the  north-east  of  Palestine  or  to 
the  region  of  Edom,  further  south.  From  the  Book  itself  we  learn  that 
Job's  flocks  were  exposed  on  the  east  to  inroads  on  the  part  of  the 
Chaldeans,  the  tribes  between  Syria  and  the  Euphrates,  i.  17;  and  in 
another  direction  to  attacks  from  the  Sabeans,  i.  15.  The  most  prominent 
man  among  his  friends  was  from  Teman,  which  belonged  to  Edom, 
ii.  II  (comp.  Gen.  xxxvi.  15;  Jerem.  xlix.  7,  20),  and  he  himself  is 
named  the  greatest  of  all  the  children  of  the  East,  i.  3.  In  Lam.  iv.  2t 
it  is  said  :  Rejoice  O  daughter  of  Edom  that  dwellest  in  the  land  of  Uz. 
These  words  do  not  imply  that  Uz  is  identical  with  Edom,  but  they 
imply  that  Edomites  had  possession  of  Uz,  which  could  not  have  been 
the  case  unless  the  lands  bordered  on  one  another.  The  land  of  Uz, 
therefore,  probably  lay  east  of  Palestine  and  north  of  Edom.  This 
general  position  is  already  assigned  to  it  in  the  Sept.  which,  in  some 
verses  added  to  the  end  of  the  Book,  and  embodying  the  traditioii  of 
the  time,  says  that  the  land  of  Uz  lay  "on  the  borders  of  Edom  and 
Arabia." 

There  is  nothing  in  Scripture  that  defines  the  position  of  Job's  home 
more  precisely.  An  interesting  tradition,  as  old  at  least  as  the  early 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  has  been  investigated  by  Wetzstein. 
This  tradition  places  the  home  of  Job  in  the  Nukra,  the  fertile  de- 
pression of  Bashan  at  the  south-east  foot- of  Hermon.  Near  the  town 
of  Nawa,  about  40  miles  almost  due  south  of  Damascus,  a  little  to  the 
west  of  the  pilgrim  route  from  this  city  to  Mecca,  and  about  the  lati- 
tude of  the  north  end  of  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  there  still  exist  a  Afakdm, 
that  is,  place,  or  tomb,  and  monastery  of  Job.  Wetzstein  assigns  the 
building  to  the  end  of  the  third  century.  See  his  Excursus  at  the  end 
of  Delitzsch's  Comm.  on  Job. 

zuhose  name  was  Job]  The  Heb.  form  of  the  name  is  lyyob,  which 
does  not  occur  again  in  the  Bible.     There  is  no  play  on  the  name  or 

JOB  I 


2  JOB,    I.  [v.  2. 

that  feared  God,  and  eschewed  evil.     And  there  were  born 

allusion  to  its  significance  in  the  Book.  It  does  not  seem,  therefore,  to 
have  been  coined  by  the  Author  of  the  Poem,  but  probably  came  down 
to  him  with  other  fragments  of  the  tradition  on  which  he  worked.  The 
way  in  which  Ezekiel  alludes  to  Job,  in  company  with  other  renowned 
names  such  as  Noah  and  Daniel,  seems  to  imply  that  this  prophet  drew 
his  information  regarding  job  from  a  more  general  source  than  the 
present  Book  :  "  Though  these  three  men,  Noah,  Daniel  and  Job  were 
in  it  (the  sinful  land),  they  should  deliver  but  their  own  souls  by  their 
righteousness,"  xiv.  14.  The  tradition  regarding  Job  and  his  sufferings 
was  probably  well  known  in  the  East,  and  the  name  of  the  suffering 
hero  was  part  of  the  tradition.  It  is  of  little  consequence,  therefore,  to 
enquire  what  the  name  means  of  itself.  If  the  word  be  Hebrew  it 
might  mean  the  "assailed"  or  "persecuted,"  that  is,  by  Satan  (or  God). 
In  Arabic  the  form  of  the  word  is  AyyiU,  and  if  derived  from  this 
dialect  the  name  might  mean  the  "returning,"  that  is,  penitent,  or  more 
generally,  the  "pious."  Job  is  several  times  spoken  of  in  the  Kor'an. 
In  Sur.  xxxviii.  44  he  is  called  atuivab,  which  means  "ever  returning  to 
God,"  i.e.  pious  rather  than  penitent,  but  there  seems  no  allusion  in 
the  term  to  the  etymology  of  his  name,  for  in  the  same  chapter  both 
David  and  Solomon  receive  the  same  epithet. 

that  man  was  perfeet]  The  term  "perfect"  means  properly  "com- 
plete," without  defect.  It  does  not  imply  that  the  man  was  sinless,  for 
Job  never  puts  forward  any  such  pretension,  but  that  he  was  a  righteous 
man  and  free  from  specific  sins  such  as  were  held  to  bring  down  the 
chastisement  of  heaven.  That  he  was  so  is  the  very  foundation  of  liis 
trial  and  the  first  principle  of  the  Book.  Job's  "perfection  "  is  affirmed  in 
heaven :  "Hast  thou  considered  my  servant  Job...  a  perfect  and  an  upright 
man?"  i.  8,  ii.3  ;  it  is  understood  by  his  wife  :  Dost  thou  still  hold  fast 
thy  perfection?  ii.  9;  and  it  is  persi'stently  claimed  for  himself  by  Job, 
not  only  in  moments  of  excitement  when  stung  by  the  insinuations  of 
his  friends:  I  am  perfect,  ix.  21  (see  notes),  but  also  when  the  heat  of 
the  conflict  is  over  and  under  the  most  solemn  oaths :  As  God  liveth 
who  hath  taken  away  my  right,.. .1  will  not  remove  my  perfection  from 
me  ;  my  righteousness  I  hold  fast,  xxvii.  2,  5,  6.  The  word  occurs 
again,  xxxi.  6,  and  in  another  form,  xii.  4 :  The  just,  perfect  man  is 
laughed  to  scorn.  Even  the  three  friends  admit  Job's  perfectness  in 
general,  although  they  are  under  the  impression  that  he  must  have  been 
guilty  of  some  serious  offences  to  account  for  his  calamities,  and  they 
urge  it  upon  Job  as  a  ground  of  confidence  in  his  ultimate  recovery  :  Is 
not  thy  hope  the  perfectness  of  thy  ways?  iv.  6  ;  and  again  :  "God  will 
not  cast  away  a  perfect  man,"  viii.  20.  One  of  the  objects  the  writer  of 
the  Book  had  in  view  was  to  teach  that  sufferings  may  fall  on  men  for 
reasons  unconnected  with  any  sin  on  their  own  part;  and  using  the 
history  of  Job  for  this  purpose,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  lay 
emphasis  in  all  parts  of  the  Book  upon  Job's  perfection.  The  term 
"perfect"  is  used  of  Noah  in  the  same  sense:  Noah,  a  just  man, 
was  perfect  in  his  generation;  that  is,  he  was  righteous  and  exempt 
from  the  sins  of  his  contemporaries,  Gen.  vi.  9. 


V-3-] JOB,   I. 3 

unto  him  seven  sons  and  three  daughters.     His  substance  3 

feared  Go(f\  Job  was  not  only  just  and  upright,  with  a  high  morah'ty, 
he  was  also  godfearing.  These  two  things  are  never  separated  in  the 
Old  Testament.  For  as  God  was  the  author  of  all  the  movements  in 
the  world  and  human  history,  so  right  thoughts  of  Him  and  right 
relations  to  Him  lay  at  the  foundation  of  all  right  human  conduct.  The 
tear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom  ;  and  wisdom  includes  both 
just  thinking  and  right  conduct. 

2,  3.  Job's  family  and  wealth.  A  first  principle  in  the  Oriental 
Wisdom,  which  corresponds  in  part  to  our  Ethics,  was,  that  it  is  well 
with  the  righteous  and  ill  with  the  wicked,  Is.  iii.  lo,  ii.  This  prin- 
ciple is  set  at  the  head  of  the  Psalter  in  Ps.  i.,  and  is  reiterated  in 
many  shapes  as  an  unalterable  law  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  Ac- 
cording to  this  principle  Job  and  all  acquainted  with  him  would  see  his 
piety  reflected  in  his  worldly  prosperity,  and  regard  this  as  God's  bless- 
ing upon  him  on  account  of  it.  It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  writer  of 
the  Book  to  break  with  this  principle  absolutely.  On  the  contrary 
when  he  lets  Job  at  the  end  of  his  trials  be  restored  to  a  prosperity 
double  that  which  he  enjoyed  before,  he  gives  in  his  adhesion  to  the 
principle  in  general.  If  he  had  not  done  so  his  position  would  have 
been  more  false  than  that  of  Job's  friends,  who  asserted  that  the 
principle  prevailed  in  the  world  without  exceptions.  The  Author's 
design  goes  no  further  than  to  teach  that  the  principle  is  subject  to 
great  modifications,  and  that  sufferings  may  arise  from  causes  more 
general  than  any  connected  with  the  sufferer's  own  life.  His  object, 
however,  in  teaching  this  doctrine  cannot  have  been  the  limited  one  of 
correcting  a  false  theory  of  Providence,  he  must  have  had  before  him 
the  wider  purpose  of  sustaining  individuals  or  most  probably  his  nation 
under  severe  and  inexplicable  trials  and  encouraging  them  v/ith  brilliant 
hopes  of  the  future. 

The  round  numbers  7,  3,  5,  by  which  Job's  children  and  his  flocks 
are  described,  express,  according  to  the  ideas  connected  with  such 
numbers  in  the  East,  their  perfection  and  complete  sufficiency.  They 
teach  at  the  same  time  that  what  we  have  before  us  here  is  not  actual 
history,  but  history  idealized  by  the  Poet  and  Teacher,  that  he  may 
convey  by  it  more  vividly  the  moral  lessons  which  he  desires  to  in- 
culcate. Job's  sons  were  seven  and  his  daughters  three,  for  sons  were 
more  esteemed  in  the  East  than  daughters,  partly  for  reasons  connected 
with  the  state  of  society,  one  of  which  is  alluded  to  in  the  Psalm :  "They 
shall  not  be  ashamed,  they  shall  speak  with  the  enemies  in  the  gate," 
Ps.  cxxvii.  5.  Mohammed  expresses  the  feelings  of  the  Arabs  when 
he  says :  For  when  any  one  of  them  is  informed  of  the  birth  of  a 
daughter  a  black  shadow  falls  upon  his  face  and  he  is  wroth,  and  with- 
draweth  himself  from  men  because  of  the  evil  tidings,  uncertain  whether 
he  shall  keep  it  with  disgrace  or  bury  it  (alive)  in  the  dust,  Kor.  xvi.  60; 
and  even  the  modern  Jew  in  his  prayers  gives  thanks  in  this  way : 
Blessed  art  thou,  O  king  of  the  universe,  who  hast  not  made  me  a 
woman. 


4  JOB,  I. [vv-  3-5- 

also  was  seven  thousand  sheep,  and  three  thousand  camels, 
and  five  hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  and  five  hundred  she  asses, 
and  a  very  great  household;  so  that  this  man  was  the 
greatest  of  all  the  men  of  the  east.  And  his  sons  went  and 
feasted  in  their  houses,  every  one  his  day ;  and  sent  and 
called  for  their  three  sisters  to  eat  and  to  drink  with  them. 
,  And  it  was  so,  when  the  days  of  their  feasting  were  gone 

As  a  great  Eastern  Emeer,  Job  was  rich  in  camels.  These  were 
used  for  riding  when  the  journey  was  long,  and  for  transporting  produce 
and  merchandise  to  tlie  distant  cities.  They  were  also  eaten  by  the 
Arabs.  She-asses,  the  price  of  one  of  which  is  said  to  be  three  times 
tliat  of  a  male,  were  esteemed  not  on  account  of  their  mill<,  but  for  the 
sake  of  their  foals.  In  a  country  where  wheeled  carriages  are  un- 
known, they  were  used  not  only  for  riding,  but  for  all  ])urposes  of  home 
and  agricultural  carriage.  Oxen  were  used  for  labouring  the  fields,  for 
which  the  horse  is  not  employed  in  the  East.  The  amount  of  arable 
land  was  measured  by  the  number  of  yoke,  that  is,  pairs,  of  oxen  re- 
quired to  cultivate  it.  Job's  rich  and  extensive  fields  were  plowed  by  a 
thousand  oxen,  v.  14.  Such  wide  possessions  implied  a  very  great 
"household,"  that  is,  body  of  servants.  And  the  writer  finishes  his 
picture  of  Job  by  saying  that  he  "was  the  greatest  of  all  the  men  (lit. 
children)  of  the  East."  His  "greatness"  did  not  lie  in  his  wealth 
alone,  but  in  the  respect  in  which  he  was  held  and  in  his  influence. 
See  the  pathetic  picture  which  he  draws  of  his  own  former  estate, 
ch.  xxix.  On  the  general  phrase  "children  of  the  East"  see  Gen. 
xxix.  1 ;  Jud.  vi.  3,  vii.  12,  viii.  10;  i  Kings  iv.  30;  Jer.  xlix.  28;  Ezek. 
XXV.  4,  10. 

4,  5.  A  TRAIT  FROM  Job"S  ORDINARY  LIFE,  ILLUSTRATING  THE 
HAPPINESS  AND  UNITY  OF  HIS  CHILDREN  AND  THE  FATHER'S 
SCRUPULOUS    PIETY, 

4.  in  their  houses,  every  one  his  day']  lit.  7nade  a  feast  at  the  house  of 
each  on  his  day,  or,  at  the  house  of  him  'whose  day  it  7vas.  The  seven 
sons  had  homes  of  their  own.  The  daughters  probably  lived  in  the 
house  of  their  father.  It  does  not  appear  with  certainty  from  the  Book 
whether  any  of  Job's  children  were  married.  Each  son  made  a  feast  at 
his  house  on  his  day,  to  which  the  other  six  brothers  and  the  three 
sisters  were  invited.  When  the  cycle  of  seven  feasts  had  gone  round, 
the  father  sent  and  purified  his  children  and  offered  sacrifice  on  their 
behalf.  What  seems  meant  is  that,  as  there  were  seven  sons,  there  was  a 
feast  at  the  house  of  one  of  them  in  succession  each  day  of  the  week, 
and  that  at  the  end  of  the  week,  when  all  the  seven  had  given  their  feast, 
the  father  sent,  possibly  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and 
sanctified  them.  Thus  week  after  week  was  passed  ;  their  life  was  a 
continual  feast.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  we  do  not  stand  on  the 
ground  of  mere  history  here.  The  idea  shapes  its  materials  to  its  own 
ends  ;  and  what  is  presented  to  us  is  the  highest  earthly  joyousness  and 
affection  combined  with  the  most  sensitive  piety. 


V.  5-]  JOB,  I. 5 

about,  that  Job  sent  and  sanctified  them,  and  rose  up  early 
in  the  morning,  and  offered  burnt  offerings  according  to  the 
number  of  them  all:  for  Job  said,  It  may  be  that  my  sons 
have  sinned,  and  cursed  God  in  their  hearts.  Thus  did 
Job  continually. 

5.  sent  and  sanctified  thcin'\  that  is,  most  likely,  sent/^r  them.  The 
sanctification  or  purification  consisted  probably  in  washings  and  change 
of  garments,  Gen.  xxxv.  i,  and  similar  rites,  and  was  preparatory  to  the 
sacrifice  or  rehgious  service  immediately  to  be  engaged  in,  as  Samuel 
said  to  the  family  of  Jesse,  ' '  Sanctify  yourselves  and  come  with  me  to  the 
sacrifice,"  i  Sam.  xvi.  5.  The  act  of  worship  was  the  sacrifice.  As  was 
customary  in  the  Tatriarchal  age,  to  which  Job  belonged,  and  even  far 
down  in  the  history  of  Israel,  the  father  was  priest  of  tlie  family,  and  the 
sacrifice  offered  was  the  burnt-ofifering.  This  offering  contained  in  it  the 
germs  which  afterwards  expanded  into  the  various  distinct  kinds  of 
sacrifice,  such  as  the  sin-offering.  Job  used  it  as  a  sacrifice  of  atone- 
ment. 

number  of  thein  a/f\  Whether  Job  offered  ten  burnt-offerings,  including 
his  daughters  in  his  atoning  sacrifice,  which  would  seem  likely,  or  only 
seven,  one  corresponding  to  each  feast  day,  is  a  point  that  cannot  be 
settled  with  certainty. 

sinned,  and  cursed  God  in  their  hearts']  Rather,  sinned  and  disowned 
God,  that  is,  sinned  by  disowning  or  renouncing  God  in  their  hearts. 
Job  himself  was  not  present  at  the  youthful  festivities.  He  did  not  any 
longer  care  for  such  things,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  impose  his  own  gravity 
upon  those  whose  years  it  did  not  suit.  His  desire  was  to  see  his  children 
happy,  provided  their  happiness  was  innocent.  What  he  feared  in  them 
was  not  any  open  excess,  or  outbreak  into  coarse  vice,  but  a  momen- 
tary turning  away  of  the  heart  from  God  in  the  midst  of  social  enjoyment, 
as  if  they  felt  that  this  enjoyment  was  better  than  religion  or  might  fill 
its  place  in  ones  liTe. 

The  word  translated  "curse"  means  in  usage  to  bless,  hence  to  salute, 
I  Sam.  XXV.  14,  either  at  meeting  or  parting,  as  the  Oriental  wishes  the 
peace  (salam)  or  blessing  of  God  upon  one  whom  he  meets  or  parts  from, 
Gen.  xlvii.  7,  10.  From  this  use  of  the  word  in  taking  leave  it  may  have 
come  to  mean,  to  bid  farewell  to,  and  hence  to  disown  or  renounce.  A 
similar  secondary  use  is  found  in  our  own  and  the  classical  languages. 
Thus : 

Valeat  res  ludicra. 
Good  bye  the  stage.     HoR. 
Farewell  faint-hearted  and  degenerate  King, 
In  whose  cold  blood  no  spark  of  honour  bides. 

A'.  Bcnry   VI. 

Si  maxime  talis  est  Deus,  ut  nulla  gratia,  nulla  hominum  caritate 
teneatur,  valeat.  Cic.  Nat.  Dear.  I.  44.  See  Aesch.  Agam.  572  ;  Plat. 
Phaedr.  5S.  These  and  other  examples  will  be  found  in  the  commentaries. 
Others,  assuming  that  the  radical  sense  of  the  word  is  to  kneel,  Ts.  xcv. 


6  JOB,  I.  [v.  6. 

6      Now  there  was  a  day  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to 

6,  have  supposed  that  the  sense  of  ciuse  miglit  arise  from  a  person's 
kneeling  to  imprecate  evil.  But  this  is  a  far-fetched  idea.  Besides,  the 
sense  of  curse  is  unsuitable  in  this  passage  as  well  as  in  the  other  places 
where  the  word  occurs.  vSome  such  sense  as  "renounce"  suits  all  the 
passages  in  Job  and  the  only  other  passage  where  the  sense  of  the  word 
must  be  similar,  r  Kings  xxi.  lo. 

It  is  curious  tliat  the  sin  which  Job  feared  in  his  children  as  the  con- 
sequence of  drinking  too  deeply  of  the  joys  of  life  was  the  sin  to  which 
he  himself  was  almost  driven  by  the  acuteness  of  his  misery.  So  sur- 
rounded are  ^^■e  of  God  on  every  side. 

6 — 12.    The  disinterestedness  of  Job's  piety  brought  under 

SUSPICION   BV  THE  ADVERSARY   IN   THE   COUNCIL   OF   IIeAVEN. 

After  the  scene  of  happiness  and  piety  presented  by  Job's  home 
on  earth,  the  Poet  draws  the  veil  aside  and  shews  us  a  scene  in  heaven. 
The  Council  of  the  Most  High  convenes.  Around  the  throne  of  the 
King,  whose  subject  and  servant  Job  is,  stand  "  his  ministers  that  do 
his  pleasure,"  Ps.  ciii.  i\.  Their  oflices  are  various.  The  office  of  one 
of  them  is  to  try  the  sincerity  of  men,  and  put  their  religion  to  the  proof. 
Job's  piety  is  commended  on  the  part  of  God,  but  suspicions  regarding 
its  disinterestedness  are  insinuated  on  the  part  of  this  angel.  He  receives 
permission  to  try  Job,  with  the  reservation  that  he  must  not  afllict  him 
in  his  person. 

6.  Noiv  there  was  a  day  7aJicii']  lit.  ho'm  it  fell  on  a  day  that  the  sons 
of  God  presented  themselves. ..and  Satan  came.  The  meaning  is  not  that 
there  was  a  set  time  for  the  sons  of  God  presenting  themselves,  but  that 
they  did  on  a  certain  day  convene  and  Satan  came  among  them.  Pie 
came  because  one  of  tiiem — not,  although  not  one  of  them.  The  phrase 
is  the  same  in  i.  13;  ii.  i  ;  2  Kings  iv.  18. 

the  sons  of  God\  Rather  perhaps,  sons  of  the  Elohim,  i.e.  angels. 
The  word  Elohim  usually  means  God,  but  this  is  scarcely  its  meaning  here. 
The  angels  are  not  called  "sons  of  God  "as  if  they  had  actually  derived 
their  nature  from  Him  as  a  child  from  its  father;  nor  in  a  less  exact  way, 
because  though  created  they  have  received  a  nature  similar  to  God's, 
being  spirits  ;  nor  yet  as  if  on  account  of  their  stedfast  holiness  they  had 
been  adopted  by  grace  into  the  family  of  God.  These  ideas  are  not 
found  here.  The  name  Elohim  or  sons  (i.e.  members  of  the  va.t:Q)of  the 
Elohim  is  a  name  given  directly  to  angels  in  contrast  with  men.  The 
word  means  probably  "powers,"  "mights,"  and  the  name  is  given  to 
God  and  angels  in  common  ;  He  is  the  Elohim  preeminently,  they  are 
Elohim  in  an  inferior  sense.  The  name  describes  their  nature  or  stand- 
ing in  contrast  to  what  is  human  ;  the  name  angels,  that  is,  messengers, 
is  descriptive  of  the  duties  which  they  fulfil.  The  same  Beings  are  called 
"sons  of  Elim,"  Ps.  Ixxxix.  6  ("sons  of  the  mighty"),  and  Ps.  xxix. 
1  ("ye  mighty"),  and  there  as  here  they  stand  in  the  temple  or  palace 
of  the  Lord,   xxix.  9;    Ixxxix.   6 — 8.     Angels  are  referred  to  several 


V.  6.]  JOB,   I.  7 

present  themselves  before  the  Lord,  and  Satan  came  also 

times  in  the  Book  of  Job.  In  v.  i  the  supposition  is  put  that  men  might 
appeal  to  them  for  sympathy  or  a  hearing  amidst  sufferings  judged  to  be 
undeserved.  In  xxxiii.  23  they  fulfil  the  office  of  interpreter  between 
God  and  men.  They  form  the  Council  of  God,  xv.  8.  They  are  not 
said  to  have  been  created,  but  were  present  when  the  earth  was  formed, 
xxxviii.  7.  They  are  called  the  "  holy  ones,"  v.  i  ;  xv.  15,  where,  how- 
ever, "  holy  "  is  not  a  moral  term,  but  means  attending  on  God.  Though 
pure  lii<e  the  heavens  and  all  contained  in  its  sphere,  in  contrast  with 
God  they  are  impure  and  unwise,  iv.  18;  xv.  15  ;  xxv.  5. 

For  a  scene  m  heaven  similar  to  that  presented  in  this  verse  see 
I  Kings  xxii.  19  seq. ;  Comp.  Is.  vi. ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  6  scq.,  also  Zech.  iii. 

nn.(  ^dtaii  came  also]  Or,  and  the  Adversary,  or  Opposer,  as  in  the 
iiidi-gin.  The  Heb.  is  tlu  Satan,  \\here  the  presence  of  the  article  shews 
that  the  word  has  not  yet  become  a  proper  name.  The  word  Satan 
means  one  who  opposes  another  in  his  purpose,  Numb.  xxii.  22,  32,  or 
pretensions  and  claims,  Zech.  iii.  i  ;  i  Kings  xi.  14,  23,  25,  or  generally. 
The  Satan  is  that  one  of  God's  ministers  whose  part  it  is  to  oppose  men 
in  their  pretensions  to  a  right  standing  before  God,  Zech.  iii.  i,  and 
here;  that  is,  who  represents  God's  trying,  sifting  providence.  He  is  one 
of  God's  messengers  and  presents  himself  before  God  to  report,  or  to 
receive  commissions,  parts  of  God's  will  whic'n  he  is  to  execute. 

God's  providence  is  over  all ;  He  doeth  whatsoever  is  done  in  heaven 
or  on  earth.  But  He  makes  use  of  agents  in  His  operations.  Hence  the 
same  act,  such  as  instigating  David  to  number  the  people,  may  be  in 
one  place  ascribed  to  God  directly,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  i,  and  in  another  to 
Satan,  i  Chron.  xxi.  i.  God's  purposes  are  usually  beneficent  and 
gracious,  hence  the  angels  are  comprehensively  designated  as  "minister- 
ing spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  the  sake  of  them  who  shall  be  heirs 
of  salvation,"  Heb.  i.  14.  But  He  has  also  purposes  of  judgment  and 
chastisement,  which  are  executed  by  those  called  the  "destroyers," 
Job  xxxiii.  22  ;  Ex.  xii.  23.  In  all  these  operations,  whether  of  mercy 
or  of  judgment,  the  angels  are  simply  servants.  They  do  God's  behests. 
Their  own  moral  character  does  not  come  into  question.  They  are 
neither  good  nor  bad  angels.  The  spirit  from  the  Lord  that  troubled 
Saul  is  called  "evil,"  [  Sam.  xvi.  14  Jty.,  not  in  reference  to  its  own 
character,  but  to  the  effect  produced  on  Saul's  mind.  In  like  manner 
the  spirit  that  came  forth  and  undertook  to  delude  Ahab  to  his  destruc- 
tion, was  not  a  false  spirit  in  himself,  he  merely  became  a  lying  spirit  in 
the  mouth  of  Ahab's  prophets,  i  Kings  xxii.  19  seq.  In  all  such  cases 
the  spirit  is  characterized  according  to  the  influence  which  he  exerts. 
Neither  is  the  Satan  represented  here  as  a  fallen  or  evil  spirit.  Yet 
undoubtedly  a  step  towards  this  is  taken.  He  shews  an  assiduity  slightly 
too  keen  in  the  exercise  of  his  somewhat  invidious  function.  He  rather 
usurps  the  initiative  in  marking  out  Job  for  trial,  even  though  he  might 
feel  sheltered  under  his  general  commission.  The  Author  lets  us  know 
that  this  is  his  view  of  him  when  he  puts  into  God's  mouth  the  words  : 
Thou  didst  set  me  on  against  him,  ii.  3.  And  in  the  parallel  passage 
Zech.  iii.  his  cold-blooded  cruelty  in  the  exercise  of  his  oftice  against  the 


8  JOB,   I.  [vv.  7— II. 

7  among  them.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  Whence 
comest  thou?  Then  Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 
From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up 

8  and  down  in  it.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  Hast 
thou  considered  my  servant  Job,  that  there  is  none  hke  him 
in  the  earth,  a  perfect  and  an  upright  man,  one  that  feareth 

9  God  and  escheweth  evil  ?     Then  Satan  answered  the  Lord, 
loand  said,  Doth  Job  fear  God  for  nought?     Hast  not  thou 

made  a  hedge  about  him,  and  about  his  house,  and  about 

all  that  he  hath  on  every  side?  thou  hast  blessed  the  work 

of  his  hands,   and  his  substance  is  increased  in  the  land. 

II  But  put  forth  thine  hand  now,  and  touch  all  that  he  hath, 

miserable  and  in  a  moral  sense  the  somewhat  ragged  Church  of  the 
Restoration  stands  rebuked  before  the  spirit  of  Divine  compassion  :  "The 
Lord  rebuke  thee  Satan,  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  from  the  burning?" 
Subsequent  revelation  made  advances  on  the  doctrine  of  Satan,  the 
discussion  of  which,  however,  does  not  belong  here. 

7.  From  going  to  and  fro]  As  the  word  is  used  by  the  Satan  of 
himself  there  is,  naturally,  no  shade  of  self-condemnation  in  it :  rather 
the  reverse,  he  speaks  with  a  certain  consciousness  of  his  assiduous 
faithfulness.  The  term  is  used  of  "  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  that  go  to  and 
fro,"  2  Chron.  xvi.  9.  What  is  suggested  is  the  swiftness  and  ubiquity 
of  his  survey  of  men.  Similarly  walking  tip  and  down  is  said  of  those 
benevolent  emissaries  sent  forth  from  heaven  in  the  interest  of  the  suffer- 
ing righteous  of  the  earth,  Zech.  i.  10,  11;  vi.  7.  The  growing  light  of 
revelation  cast  the  figure  of  Satan  into  deeper  shade,  and  his  restless 
activity  receives  a  corresponding  deepness  of  tint,  "Vour  adversary,  as  a 
roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour,"  i  Pet.  v.  8. 

8.  The  integrity  and  godliness  attributed  to  Job  by  the  author  of  the 
Poem  are  confirmed  by  God  Himself. 

9.  for  nought]  Satan  does  not  dispute  Job's  piety ;  only,  the  devo- 
tion of  the  rich  landowner  to  the  Bountiful  Giver  of  all  good  is  not  ill 
to  understand  !  A  different  estimate  of  what  true  religion  is  and  of  the 
things  that  are  difficullics  in  the  way  of  it  was  formed  by  Another,  who 
said  :  "How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God!"  A  subtle  turn  is  given  to  the  words  of  Satan  by  Gcdet  in  his 
Essay  on  Job,  who  thinks  that  while  they  are  openly  a  slar  upon  man, 
they  are  covertly  a  sarcasm  on  the  Most  High  Himself,  imjilying  that 
no  one  truly  loves  Him,  He  is  served  only  for  the  benefits  He  confers. 
The  Essayist  may  do  no  injustice  to  Satan,  but  he  does  to  the  Old 
Testament  conception  of  him.  The  Satan  of  this  15ook  may  shew  the 
beginnings  of  a  personal  malevolence  against  man,  but  he  is  still  rigidly 
subordinated  to  heaven,  and  in  all  he  does  subserves  its  interests.  His 
function  is  as  the  minister  of  God  to  try  the  sincerity  of  man ;  hence 
when  his  work  of  trial  is  over  he  is  no  more  found,  and  no  place  is 
given  him  among  the  dramatis  persona  of  the  poem. 


vv.  12,  13.]  JOB,  I.     9 

and  he  will  curse  thee  to  thy  face.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Satan,  Behold,  all  that  he  hath  is  in  thy  power ;  only  upon 
himself  put  not  forth  thine  hand.  So  Satan  went  forth 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

And  there  was  a  day  when  his  sons  and  his  daughters 
were  eating  and  drinking  wine  in  their  eldest  brother's  house  : 

11.  curse  thee  to  thy  face\  that  is,  renounce  thee  openly.  See  on 
vers.  5.  The  phrase  and  he  will  curse  thee  has  the  form  of  an  oath  in 
the  Heb.  Satan  so  little  believes  in  the  sincerity  of  human  religion  that 
he  is  not  afraid  to  take  his  oath  that  it  is  hollow. 

12.  Satan  receives  permission  to  try  Job,  but  the  length  he  can  go  is 
rigidly  bounded  by  the  will  of  the  Most  High.  Having  received  his 
commission  he  immediately  "goes  forth,"  glad  to  appearance  in  the 
opportunity  of  doing  mischief  and  confident  in  the  result. 

13—22.    Job's  first  trial;  and  its  issue:  his  reverence  to- 
wards God  remains  unshaken. 

Between  w.  12  and  13  there  is  an  interval,  an  ominous  stillness  like 
that  which  precedes  the  storm.  The  poet  has  drawn  aside  the  curtain 
to  us  and  we  know  what  is  impending.  Job  knows  nothing.  His  chil- 
dren are  about  him  and  he  thinks  the  Almighty  is  yet  with  him,  xxix.  5. 
The  earth  smiles  to  him  as  it  was  wont  by  day;  and  by  night  the 
Bear,  Orion  and  the  Pleiades  come  forth  in  their  silent  procession,  and 
the  Dragon  trails  his  glittering  folds  across  the  heavens  overhead,  and 
he  looks  with  wonder  into  the  deep  chambers  of  the  South.  All  is 
glorious  with  a  constant  glory  because  it  is  an  unchanging  hand  that 
leads  them  forth,  the  hand  of  the  Holy  One  from  whose  words  he  has 
never  declined,  vi.  10,  and  whose  candle  as  he  deems  still  shines  upon 
his  head,  xxix.  3.  He  does  not  know  that  he  is  being  played  for  like  a 
pawn.  Suddenly  the  catastrophe  overtakes  him.  Messenger  after  mes- 
senger, each  taking  up  his  tale  of  ruin  before  the  other  has  concluded 
his,  announce  that  all  he  had  has  been  taken  from  him.  Heaven  and 
earth  have  combined  to  overwhelm  him.  The  forces  of  nature  and  the 
destructive  violence  of  men  have  united  to  strip  him  bare. 

The  description  has  many  features  of  the  ideal.  First,  the  catastrophe 
befell  on  the  day  when  Job's  children  were  feasting  in  their  eldest 
brother's  house,  v.  13,  the  day  on  the  morning  of  which  Job  had  sent 
for  his  children  and  sanctified  them  and  offered  sacrifices  on  their  behalf. 
Job's  godliness  and  his  calamity  are  brought  into  the  closest  contrast. 
He  felt  this,  and  as  he  regarded  eveiy  event  as  wrought  by  the  hand 
of  God  immediately,  his  afflictions  threw  his  mind  into  the  deepest  per- 
plexity regarding  the  ways  of  God.  Again,  while  heaven  and  men  alter- 
nate their  strokes  upon  him,  these  strokes  follow  one  another  with 
increasing  severity,  and  in  each  case  only  one  escapes  to  bring  the 
grievous  tidings.  The  rapid  touches  of  the  Author  do  not  suggest  any 
struggle  or  rising  rebelliousness  in  Job's  mind.  He  manifests  the 
livetiest  grief,  but  maintains  his  self-control.     And   the   scene  closes 


lo  JOB,  I.  [vv.  14—20. 

14  and  there  came  a  messenger  unto  Job,  and  said,  The  oxen 

15  were  plowing,  and  the  asses  feeding  beside  them  :  and 
the  Sabeans  fell  upon  them,  and  took  them  away ;  yea,  they 
have  slain  the  servants  with  the  edge  of  the  sword ;  and 

16  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee.  While  he  was  yet 
speaking,  there  came  also  another,  and  said,  The  fire  of 
God  is  fallen  from  heaven,  and  hath  burnt  up  the  sheep, 
and  the  servants,  and  consumed   them ;   and  I  only   am 

17  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee.  While  he  was  yet  speaking, 
there  came  also  another,  and  said.  The  Chaldeans  made  out 
three  bands,  and  fell  upon  the  camels,  and  have  carried 
them  away,  yea,  and  slain  the  servants  with  the  edge  of  the 

is  sword ;  and  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee.  While 
he  7vas  yet  speaking,  there  came  also  another,  and  said. 
Thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  7vere  eating  and  drinking  wine 

19  in  their  eldest  brother's  house:  and,  behold,  there  came  a 
great  wind  from  the  wilderness,  and  smote  the  four  corners 
of  the  house,  and  it  fell  upon  the  young  men,  and  they  are 

20  dead ;  and  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to  tell  thee.     Then 

upon  the  sufferer,  a  solitary  man,  worsliipping  God  amidst  the  waste 
where  his  rich  possessions  once  had  hen. 

14,  15.  Tlie  first  stroke,  the  loss  of  the  oxen  and  she-asses,  with 
the  slaughter  of  the  servants.  Job's  servants  were  probably  armed,  as 
is  usual  in  the  East,  and  offered  resistance,  for  the  Bedawin  do  not 
usually  shed  blood  unless  opposed.  The  Sabeans  were  an  Arab  tribe, 
or  possibly  different  tribes  bore  the  name  (Gen.  x.  7,  28 ;  xxv.  3).  In 
vi.  19  they  are  represented  as  trading  with  caravans.  They  are  men- 
tioned in  connexion  with  Dedan,  and  probably  detachments  of  them 
encamped  on  the  borders  of  Edom,  and  these  would  be  the  assailants 
of  Job's  servants.  The  raid  came  from  the  direction  of  the  South,  and 
the  fact  that  the  oxen  were  plowing  indicates  that  the  disaster  befell  in 
winter. 

16.  The  second  stroke.  The  fire  of  God  can  hardly  have  been  the 
sultry,  poisonous  Samoom,  or  hot  wind  of  the  desert,  nor  any  rain  of 
sulphur  such  as  destroyed  Sodom,  but  was  most  likely  lightning ;  see 
I  Kings  xviii.  38;  2  Kings  i.  12. 

17.  The  third  stroke.  The  name  Chaldeans  was  perhaps  given 
generally  to  the  tribes  that  roamed  between  the  cultivated  land  on  the 
east  of  the  Jordan  and  the  Euphrates.  Dividing  an  attacking  force  into 
several  bands,  so  as  to  fall  on  the  enemy  on  several  sides,  was  a  common 
piece  of  Oriental  tactics,  Judges  vii.  16,  ix.  43  ;   i  Sam.  xi.  11. 

18.  19.  The  fourth  stroke,  the  death  of  Job's  children.  The  wind 
struck  the  four  corners  of  the  house,  being  a  whirlwind.  It  came  from 
the  side  or  region  of  the  desert. 


VV.  21,22.]  JOB,    I,  II 

Job  arose,  and  rent  his  mantle,  and  shaved  his  head,  and 
fell  down  upon  the  ground,  and  worshipped,  and  said,  : 

Naked  came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb, 

And  naked  shall  I  return  thither  : 

The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away; 

Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
In  all  this  Job  sinned  not,  nor  charged  God  foolishly.  : 

20.  21.  Job's  demeanour  under  his  sorrows.  As  became  a  man  of 
his  rank  lob  had  received  the  messengers  sitting.  When  the  full 
extent  of  his  miseiy  came  home  to  him  he  arose  and  gave  way  to  the 
livehest  expressions  of  grief.  Pie  rent  his  mantle,  in  token  that  his 
heart  was  rent  with  sorrow,  as  Joel  ii.  13  says,  "  Rend  your  heart  and  not 
your  garments;"  he  shaved  his  head,  putting  off,  in  token  of  his 
mourning,  every  adornment,  even  that  wliich  nature  had  supplied;  and 
he  cast  himself  upon  the  ground,  laying  his  forehead  on  the  dust,  in 
deepest  submission  before  God.  Grief  has  its  rights,  which  religion 
stands  by  to  see  fulfilled,  and  then  comes  forward  to  hallow  it  and  cast 
its  peace  over  it. — The  "  mantle  "  (me'eel)  was  not  a  detached  garment 
as  the  word  might  suggest,  but  a  tunic,  the  uppermost  of  the  garments 
proper.  It  was  worn  by  women  of  the  higher  rank,  2  Sam.  xiii.  18,  as 
well  as  men;  was  of  linen  or  later  of  cotton,  with  arms,  and  reaching  to 
the  ankles.  It  was  often  either  richly  embroidered  or  perhaps  made  up 
of  pieces  of  cloth  of  various  colours,  Gen.  xxxvii.  3. 

21.  naked  shall  T  return  thither^  The  general  sense  is  plain,  though 
the  precise  idea  is  obscure.  The  words  "  my  mother's  womb  "  must  be 
used  literally,  and  return  tJiither  somewhat  inexactly,  to  describe  a 
condition  similar  to  that  which  preceded  entrance  upon  life  and 
light.  Or,  as  growth  in  the  womb  is  described,  Ps.  cxxxix.  15,  as 
"  being  curiously  wrought  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  earth,"  the  womb 
and  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  "the  mother  of  all,"  may  be  compared 
together.  "  We  brought  nothing  into  the  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can 
carry  nothing  out,"  i  Tim.  vi.  7.  All  that  man  has  is  a  gift  of  God 
which  He  may  recall.  Job  blesses  God  alike  who  gave  and  who 
recalled. 

the  inline  of  the  Lord]  The  Author  here  lets  the  Israelitish  name 
Jehovah  fall  f'rom  the  lips  of  his  hero,  contrary  to  his  usual  habit  of 
putting  the  names  God,  Almighty,  which  were  not  distinctively  Hebrew, 
into  the  mouths  of  the  speakers.  Perhaps  the  phrase  was  a  general  one 
which  alteration  would  have  spoiled ;  or  more  likely,  the  writer  was 
so  much  in  sympathy  with  the  sentiment  put  into  Job's  mouth  that  it 
escaped  him  for  the  moment  that  it  was  not  himself  or  his  nation  but 
one  foreign  to  Israel  that  was  uttering  it. 

22.  Tlie  Writer's  judgment  on  Job's  demeanour. 

In  all  thisl  Both  in  what  he  suffered  and  in  what  he  said  and  did. 
Job's  expressions  of  grief  were  no  sin. 

charged  God  foolishly']  Rather  as  margin,  attributed  folly  to  God. 
The  word  "folly"  hardly  expresses  the  idea,  though  a  better  word  is 


12  JOB,  II.  [vv.  1—3. 

2  Again  there  was  a  day  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to 
present  themselves  before  the  Lc^rd,  and  Satan  came  also 

2  among  them  to  present  himself  before  the  Lord.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Satan,  From  whence  comcst  thou  ?  And 
Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and  said.  From  going  to  and 

3  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up  and  down  in  it.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  Hast  thou  considered  my  servant 
Job,  that  there  is  none  like  him  in  the  earth,  a  perfect  and 
an  upright  man,  one  that  feareth  God,  and  escheweth  evil  ? 
and    still    he    holdeth   fast    his   integrity,   although   thou 

not  easy  to  find.  The  adj.  signifies  insipid,  without  savour,  vi.  6  (un- 
savoury), and  the  term  here  means  moral  impropriety ;  Job  attributed 
no  want  of  right  moral  savour  to  God's  actions  in  His  dealing  with  him. 
Others  prefer  the  meaning:  Gave  God  no  cause  of  displeasure  ;  a  sense 
less  suitable  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  and  to  the  connexion,  for  the 
action  of  the  poem  turns  immediately  on  the  estimate  which  Job  will 
form  of  God,  and  whether  in  consequence  he  will  renounce  Him,  and 
only  indirectly  on  what  God  shall  find  in  Job.  But  comp.  ii.  10. 
The  confident  predictions  of  the  Satan  are  wholly  falsified. 

Cii.  II.  1—10.    Job's  second  trial  and  its  issue:    he   sinned 
NOT  with  Ills  Lirs. 

How  long  time  intervened  between  Job's  first  trial  and  the  second 
is  not  stated.  Tiie  Targum  seems  to  conjecture  a  year.^  The  new 
trial  is  introduced  like  the  first  by  a  scene  in  heaven.  The  Council 
of  God  convenes.  His  ministers  stand  before  Him,  and  among  them 
the  one  whose  office  is,  as  the  Targum  says,  to  scrutinize  the  deeds 
of  men.  The  Lord  speaks  of  His  servant  Job  with  ajiiiroval  and  with 
compassion,  reproaching  the  Satan  with  instigating  Him  to  brmg  un- 
deserved affliction  upon^him.  Satan's  answer  is  ready  :  the  trial  did  not 
touch  Job  near  enough;  safe  himself,  his  children  may  perish;  if  the 
hand  of  God  would  touch  him  in  his  own  bone  and  flesh,  he  would 
renounce  Him  to  his  face.  Satan  receives  permission  to  afllict  Job  him- 
self, with  the  reservation  that  he  shaU  spare  his  life.  Straightway  Satan 
goes  forth  and  smites  Job  with  sore  boils,  the  leprosy  called  Ele(ihantiasis 
or  botch  of  Egypt,  Dcut.  xxviii.  27,  35-  'I"'ie  deeper  afiliction  only 
opens  or  reveals  greater  deeps  in  Job's  reverent  piety.  In  his  former 
trial  he  blessed  Goil  who  took  away  the  good  He  had  added  to  naked 
man  ;  this  was  strictly  no  evil  :  now  he  bows  beneath  His  hand  when 
He  inlhcts  positive  evil,  "  We  receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God  and  shall 
we  not  also  receive  evil?"  And  again  the  Writer  sums  up  the  issue  of 
the  trial  with  the  words,  "  In  all  this  Job  sinned  not." 

3.  still  he  holddh  fast  his  inti-grily]  Or,  his  perfectness,  see  on  1.  i. 
Satan  had  insinuated  that  Job's  religiousness  was  interested,  he  served 


vv.4-7.]  JOB,  II. ^ 

movedst  me  against  him,   to  destroy  him  without  cause. 
And  Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and  said.  Skin  for  skin,  yea,  4 
all  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  Ufe.     But  put  forth  5 
thine  hand  now,  and  touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,  and  he 
will  curse  thee  to  thy  face.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  6 
Behold,  he  is  in  thine  hand ;  but  save  his  life.     So  went  ^ 
Satan  forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  smote  Job 
with  sore  boils  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his  crown. 


God  for  the  benefits  He  conferred.  That  he  maintamed  his  godly  fear 
when  the  benefits  were  taken  away  refuted  the  suspicion,  and  shewed 
that  his  trials  were  without  cause. 

4.  The  Satan's  reply  is  that  the  trial  was  not  sufficiently  close,  it 
left  the  man  himself  untouched. 

Skin  for  ski)!,  yea,  all]  Rather,  skin  for  skin,  and  all  that  a  man 
hatli  will  lie  give  for  himself.  The  second  lialf  of  the  sentence  is  an 
application  to  the  subject  in  hand  of  the  general  truth  expressed  in  the 
words,  Skin  for  skin.  These  words  seem  proverbial,  though  the  origin 
of  the  proverb  is  obscure.  The  meaning  seems  to  be,  Like  for  like, 
so  all  &c.  Others  take  the  expression  in  a  less  general  sense.  The 
Targum  translates,  Member  for  member,  one  member  of  the  body  in 
behalf  of,  or  to  cover  another  member,  as  the  arm  the  head.  The  word 
skin  is  used  in  our  Book  once  or  twice  for  the  body,  xviii.  13, 
xix.  26.  If  this  sense  could  be  adopted  here  the  meaning  would  be. 
Skin  or  body  of  others  for  one's  own,  all  that  a  man  has  &c.,  in  which 
case  the  second  clause  would  merely  repeat  the  first.  This  is  prosaic, 
though  adopted  by  Jerome,  pro  corio  suo  coria  obtulit  filiorum.  The 
verse  would  then  run :  Others  for  oneself,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he 
give  for  himself.  See  the  different  interpretations  discussed  at  length 
in  Conant's  Job,  p.  8  seq. 

7.  with  sore  boils']  It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  disease  of  Job  was 
the  leprosy  called  Elephantiasis,  so  named  because  the  swollen  limbs 
and  the  black  and  corrugated  skin  of  those  afflicted  by  it  resemble  those 
of  the  elephant.  It  is  said  by  ancient  authors,  as  Pliny,  to  be  peculiar 
to  Egypt,  but  it  is  found  in  other  hot  countries  such  as  the  Hijaz,  and 
even  in  northern  climates  as  Norway.  It  is  said  to  attack  the  limbs 
first,  breaking  out  below  the  knees  and  gradually  spreading  over  the 
whole  body.  We  are  probably  to  consider,  however,  that  Job  was  smitten 
"from  the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his  crown"  all  at  once.  Full  details  of 
its  appearance  and  the  sensations  of  those  affected  may  be  gathered 
from  the  Book,  though,  being  poetically  coloured,  they  will  hardly  bear 
to  be  read  like  a  page  from  a  handbook  of  Pathology.  The  ulcers  were 
accompanied  by  an  itching  so  intolerable  that  a  piece  of  potsherd  was 
taken  to  scrape  the  sores  and  remove  the  feculent  discharge,  ii.  8.  The 
form  and  countenance  were  so  disfigured  by  the  disease  that  the  sufferer's 
friends  could  not  recognise  him,  ii.  12.  The  ulcers  seized  the  whole 
body  both  without  and  inwardly,  xix.  20,  making  the  breath  fetid,  and 


14  JOB,  II.  [vv.  8,  9. 

8  And  he  took  him  a  potsherd  to  scrape  himself  withal ;   and 

9  he  sat  down  among  the  ashes.     Then  said  his  wife  unto 

emitting  a  loathsome  smell  that  drove  every  one  from  the  sufferer's 
presence,  xix.  17,  and  made  him  seek  refuge  outside  the  viUage  upon 
the  heap  of  ashes,  ii.  8.  The  sores,  which  bred  worms,  vii.  5,  alternately 
closed,  having  the  appearance  of  clods  of  earth,  and  opened  and  ran, 
so  that  the  body  was  alternately  swollen  and  emaciated,  xvi.  8.  The 
patient  was  haunted  with  horrible  dreams,  vii.  14,  and  unearthly  terrors, 
iii.  25,  and  harassed  by  a  sensation  of  choking,  vii.  15,  which  made  his 
nights  restless  and  frightful,  vii.  4,  as  his  incessant  pains  made  his  days 
weary,  vii.  i — 4.  His  bones  were  filled  with  gnawing  pains,  as  if  a 
fire  burned  in  them,  xxx.  30,  or  as  if  his  limbs  were  tortured  in  the 
stocks,  xiii.  27,  or  wrenched  off,  xxx.  17.  He  was  helpless,  and 
his  futile  attempts  to  rise  from  the  ground  provoked  the  merriment 
of  the  children  who  played  about  the  heap  where  he  lay,  xix.  18.  The 
disease  was  held  incurable,  though  the  patient  might  linger  many 
years,  and  his  hopelessness  of  recovery  made  him  long  for  death,  iii.  20 
and  often.  Delitzsch  and  Dillmann  refer  to  various  treatises  on  the 
subject,  in  particular,  to  one  published  at  the  cost  of  the  Norwegian 
Government,  Danielsen  et  Boeck,  Traite  de  la  SpMalskhed  on  Ele- 
phantiasis des  Grccs  (with  coloured  plates),  Paris,  1848. 

8.  and  he  sat  down  among  the  ashcs'X  Rather,  as  he  sat  among. 
By  the  "ashes"  is  possibly  meant  (as  the  Sept.  already  understands, 
which  translates  iirX  ttJs  Koirpias)  the  Mdzbalah,  the  place  outside  the 
Arabic  towns  where  the  zii>l,  that  is,  dung  and  other  rubbish  of  the 
place  is  thrown.  "The  dung  which  is  heaped  up  upon  the  Mezbcle  of  the 
Hauran  villages  is  not  mixed  with  straw,  which  in  that  warm  and  dry 
land  is  not  needed  for  litter,  and  it  comes  mostly  from  solid-hoofed 
animals,  as  the  tlocks  and  oxen  are  left  over  night  in  the  grazing  places. 
It  is  carried  in  baskets  in  a  dry  state  to  this  place  before  the  village, 
and  usually  burnt  once  a  month... The  ashes  remain...  If  the  village  has 
been  inhabited  for  centuries  the  Mezbele  reaches  a  height  far  overtopping 
it.  The  winter  rains  reduce  it  into  a  compact  mass,  and  it  becomes  by 
and  bye  a  solid  hill  of  earth...  The  Mezbele  serves  the  inhabitants  for 
a  watchtower,  and  in  the  sultry  evenings  for  a  place  of  concourse,  be- 
cause there  is  a' current  of  air  on  the  height.  Tiiere  all  day  long  the 
children  play  about  it ;  and  there  the  outcast,  who  has  been  stricken 
with  some  loathsome  malady,  and  is  not  allowed  to  enter  the  dwellings  of 
men,  lays  himself  down,  begging  an  alms  of  the  passers-by  by  day,  and 
by  night  sheltering  himself  among  the  ashes  which  the  heat  of  tlie  sun 
has  warmed.  There  too  lie  the  village  dogs,  perhaps  gnawing  a  fallen 
carcase,  which  is  often  flung  there."  Wetzstein  in  Delitzsch,  Comm.  on 
Job,  2  Ed.  p.  62  (Trans,  vol.  II,  p.  152). 

9.  Then  said  his  wife]  The  incident  related  of  Job's  wife  is  not  in- 
troduced for  her  sake,  but  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  through  it  the 
condition  of  Job's  mind,  around  which  the  drama  turns.  The  author 
did  not  indicate  the  impression  which  Job's  personal  afOiction  pro- 
duced upon  him.    What  thoughts  he  had  are  concealed ;  he  is  represented 


V.9-] JOB,  II. i| 

him,  Dost  thou  still  retain  thine  integrity?  curse  God,  and 

as  sitting  silent  in  his  seclusion.  The  full  impression  of  his  miseries  is 
brought  home  to  him  reflected  from  the  mind  of  another,  that  other 
being  the  one  fitted  to  influence  him  most  powerfully.  It  is  probable 
that  the  episode  of  Job's  wife  is  brought  in  with  a  double  purpose,  first, 
to  shew  liow  all  around  Job,  those  nearest  to  him,  gave  way  under  the 
severity  of  his  trial,  and  thus  by  contrast  to  enhance  the  strength  of  his 
faith  and  the  grandeur  of  his  character ;  and  second,  to  shew  how, 
though  subjected  to  the  keenest  trial  from  the  example  and  repre- 
sentations of  his  wife,  he  still  remained  true. 

The  name  Dinah  given  to  Job's  wife  by  theTargum  or  ChaldeeTrans- 
lation  most  probably  rests  on  no  tradition,  but  is  a  mere  child's  fancy. 
The  Sept.  introduces  her  speech,  which  it  gives  in  a  greatly  amplified 
form,  with  the  words  "when  a  long  time  had  passed."  The  amplifica- 
tion is  not  unsuitable  to  the  circumstances,  but  the  curt  phrases  of  the 
original  are  truer  to  art  and  nature,  for  grief  is  possessed  of  few  words. 
Much  animated  dispute  has  taken  place  over  the  character  and  conduct 
of  the  woman.  The  Ancients  were  not  favourably  impressed  by  her, 
Augustine  calls  her  roundly  Diaboli  adjutrix.  The  Geneva  Version 
discerns  a  sad  and  universal  principle  in  her  conduct,  "Satan  useth  the 
same  instrument  against  Job  as  he  did  against  Adam."  As  was  to  be 
expected  the  present  age  has  espoused  her  cause,  and  labours  hard  to 
put  a  face  upon  her  words.  The  only  question  of  importance  is,  what 
sense  the  Author  intended  her  words  to  convey ;  and  the  key  to  this  is 
found  in  the  way  in  which  her  husband  takes  them  up.  He  does  not 
directly  call  her  a  "fool,"  that  is,  a  godless  person  (Ps.  xiv.  i),  but 
with  mild  circumlocution  says  that  she  speaks  as  one  of  the  foolish 
women  speaks.  The  Eastern  writer  lets  the  woman  act  in  character 
(Eccles.  vii.  26  scq.).  He  would  have  probably  smiled  at  the  elaborate 
analysing  of  the  female  mind  to  which  Westerns  devote  themselves, 
thinking  it  a  waste  of  time.  As  the  weaker  Job's  wife  fell  first  into 
the  snare  of  the  Devil,  and  used  her  influence,  as  in  the  beginning  of 
history,  to  draw  her  husband  after  her.  Her  story,  however,  is  not  told 
for  her  sake,  but  to  shew  how  those  around  Job  fell  away,  and  to  set 
in  a  strong  light  the  strain  to  which  his  faith  was  put  by  such  an 
example  and  the  solicitations  that  accompanied  it. 

curse  God,  and  die\  Rather  as  before,  renounce  God  and  die.  From 
a  modern  point  of  view  many  extenuations  may  be  pleaded  for  Job's 
wife,  but  her  religion  is  represented  here  as  precisely  of  the  T<ind  which 
Satan  said  Job's  was  of.  She  wonders  that  Job  still  maintains  his 
pious  resignation  ;  and  counsels  him,  as  he  gets  no  good  from  God  but 
only  evil,  even  the  extreme  evil  of  death,  to  renounce  an  unprofitable 
service,  and  die,  as  he  must,  for  nothing  else  awaits  him.  This  is  pro- 
bably the  meaning  of  the  words  "and  die."  The  words  might  have  a 
different  meaning.  When  two  imperatives  come  together  the  second 
often  expresses  the  consequence  of  the  first,  as  do  this  and  live.  And, 
"renounce  God  and  die"  might  mean,  renounce  Him  and  bring  down 
His  final  stroke  of  death  at  oiice.     The  other  is  more  probable. 


i6  JOB,  II.  [v.  lo. 

die.     But  he  said  unto  her,  Thou  spcakest  as  one  of  tlie 
foolish  women  speaketh.     AVhat?   shall  we  receive  good  at 

10.  one  of  the  foolish  zuomcn]  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning 
of  wisdom.  "  Wise"  is  less  an  intellectual  than  a  moral  term;  and  its 
opposite  "foolish"  means  godless,  Ps.  xiv.  i.  To  "work  folly  in 
Israel "  is  to  infringe  any  of  the  sacred  laws  of  natural  or  consuetudinary 
morals,  Judg.  xix.  23;  2  Sam.  xiii.  12. 

ivhatl  shall  we  j-tre/re]  Or,  we  receive  (:;ood... and  shall  we  not  also 
receive  (i.e.  accept)  evil?  Job's  words  might  mean,  we  receive  much 
good  at  the  hand  of  God,  shall  we  not  also  out  of  thankfulness  for  the 
good,  accept  evil  when  He  sends  it?  But  this  hardly  goes  to  the  root  of 
the  counsel  given  by  his  wife.  Therefore  rather  :  we  receive  good  from 
God,  not  due  to  us,  but  in  which  we  see  the  gift  of  His  sovereign  hand 
(i.  21),  shall  we  not  also  do  homage  to  His  absoluteness  when  He  brings 
evil  upon  us?  Here  Job  reaches  the  utmost  height  of  the  religious 
feeling.  He  is  in  danger  of  drifting  away  from  this  feeling  under  the 
irritation  of  his  friends'  misdirected  counsels,  but  he  is  led  back  again 
to  it  with  a  deeper  peace  through  the  appearance  and  words  of  the  Lord 
(ch.  xxxviii.  seq.).  The  Author  lets  us  know  what  in  his  view  true  religion 
is,  whether  in  a  man  or  in  a  nation,  and  doubtless  amidst  the  troubles 
and  perplexing  darkness  of  his  time  he  had  seen  it  exemplified  both  in 
individual  men  and  in  that  godly  kernel  of  the  nation  which  kept  up 
the  true  continuity  of  Israel  and  conserved  its  true  idea. 

The  Writer  adds  his  emphatic  testimony  to  Job's  sinlessness.  In  all 
this,  under  this  severe  aftliction  of  body,  and  exposed  to  this  searching 
temptation  on  the  part  of  his  wife.  Job  did  not  sin  with  his  lips,  that  is, 
in  any  particular.  Thinking  and  speaking  hardly  differ  in  the  East,  and 
the  words  mean,  let  no  sinfid  murmur  escape  him  ;  comp.  I's.  xvii.  3. 

Though  tlie  Writer  professedly  paints  the  sufferings  and  mental  trou- 
bles of  an  individual,  and  though  it  may  be  certain  that  he  has  the 
sorrows  of  individuals  before  his  mind,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  doubt 
that  he  is  writing  history  also  on  a  large  scale.  He  has  his  nation  with 
its  calamities  and  the  various  impressions  these  made  upon  the  religious 
mind  in  his  view.  The  national  calamity  could  be  nothing  less  than 
deportation  or  exile.  As  not  one  but  several  successive  and  diverse 
waves  of  feeling  pass  over  Job's  mind  in  regard  to  his  afflictions,  we  may 
assume  that  the  \Vriter  did  not  stand  close  behind  the  great  blow  that 
fell  upon  his  people,  but  lived  at  a  considerable  distance  from  it.  The 
people  had  not  only  been  stripped  of  their  possessions,  but  subjected  to 
severe  treatment  themselves,  and  the  apostasy  of  many  was  a  sore  trial 
to  the  faith  of  those  who  remained  constant,  and  the  evil  had  lasted  long 
enough  to  produce  various  impressions  on  men's  minds  and  give  rise  to 
many  attem]its  to  solve  the  problem  which  it  raised.  These  solutions  are 
reflected  in  the  debate  between  Job  and  his  friends.  The  Author  has  a 
solution  which  is  new,  to  the  effect,  namely,  that  the  calamity  is  not  a 
punishment  or  chastisement  on  account  of  sin,  as  others  held,  but  a  trial 
of  righteousness.  This  view  he  invests  in  all  the  dramatic  splendour  that 
distinguishes  the  Prologue.     Though  living  long  after  the  calamity  had 


vv.  II,  12.]  JOB,   II.  17 

the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil  ?  In  all  this 
did  not  Job  sin  with  his  lips. 

Now  when  Job's  three  friends  heard  of  all  this  evil  that  n 
was  come  upon  him,  they  came  every  one  from  his  own 
place ;  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and 
Zophar  the  Naamathite  :  for  they  had  made  an  appointment 
together  to  come  to  mourn  with  him  and  to  comfort  him. 
And  when  they  lift  up  their  eyes  afar  off,  and  knew  him  not,  12 

befallen  his  fellow-citizens,  the  Author  must  have  written  previously  to 
the  happy  turn  of  affairs  that  restored  them  to  prosperity  and  to  a  higher 
plane  of  religious  life.  This  restoration  was  the  great  hope  he  desired 
to  inspire.  Such  a  hope  was  the  counterpart  of  the  other  half  of  his 
theory  of  evil.  If  suffering  be  the  trial  of  righteousness,  the  trial,  if 
patiently  borne,  must  bring  an  accumulation  of  spiritual  gain.  This 
part  of  the  theory  was  necessary  also  in  another  view,  in  order  to  justify 
the  ways  of  God  in  subjecting  the  innocent  to  trial. 

11 — 13.  Job's  three  friends,  having  heard  of  his  misfortunes, 
come  to  condole  with  him. 

How  long  time  intei'vened  between  Job's  second  affliction  and  the 
arrival  of  his  friends  cannot  be  accurately  ascertained.  From  the  allu- 
sions in  chaps,  vii.,  xix.,  and  xxx. ,  it  is  probable  that  a  considerable  time 
elapsed.  A  man  of  Job's  rank  would  not  choose  his  friends  from  the 
men  of  inferior  station  around  him ;  they  would  be,  like  himself,  Eastern 
princes,  all  but  his  equals  in  rank  and  influence.  Their  abodes  would 
therefore  be  distant  from  one  another,  and  more  distant  from  his,  and 
travelling  in  the  East  is  slow.  The  tone  of  Job's  mind,  too,  as  reflected 
in  ch.  iii.,  has  undergone  a  change,  the  effect,  no  doubt,  of  protracted 
sufi'erings. 

Eliphaz  is  an  old  Idumean  name  (Gen.  xxxvi.  4),  and  Teman,  the 
place  of  his  abode,  is  frequently  mentioned  in  connexion  with  Edom. 
The  place  was  famed  for  the  wisdom  of  its  inhabitants  (Am.  i. 
12;  Obad.  8;  Jerem.  xlix.  7;  Ezek.  xxv.  13).  Shuah  was  a  son  of 
Abraham  by  Keturah.  The  descendants  of  this  wife  were  sent  by 
Abraham  to  the  East  (Gen.  xxv.  1,  6).  Bildad  may  be  connected  by 
the  Author  with  this  family.  Naamah,  the  dwelling-place  of  Zophar, 
means,  perhaps,  pleasant  abode  {Bcatisijour,  Reuss).  A  place  of  this 
name  is  mentioned.  Josh.  xv.  41,  but  this,  being  in  Palestine,  can  hardly 
have  been  the  home  of  Zophar.  The  place  is  doubtless  supposed  by  the 
Writer  to  lie  east  of  the  Jordan. 

11.  fo)-  t/uy  had  made  an  appointment']  Or,  and  they  met  together. 
They  came  each  from  his  own  place  and  met  at  one  point  to  go  to  visit 
Job  together. 

to  7nourn  with  him]  Or,  condole  with  him,  and  shew  their  sympathy 
with  him  in  his  sufferings. 

12.  knew  him  jwt]  Pie  was  so  altered  and  disfigured  by  the  disease. 
JOB  2 


i8  JOB,    II.  [v.  13. 

they  lifted  up  their  voice,  and  wept ;  and  they  rent  every 
one  his  mantle,  and  sprinkled  dust  upon  their  heads  toward 
«3  heaven.  So  they  sat  down  with  him  upon  the  ground  seven 
days  and  seven  nights,  and  none  spake  a  word  unto  him  : 
for  they  saw  that  his  grief  was  very  great. 

As  Job  perhaps  lay  outside  the  town  they  may  have  seen  him  at  a 
distance. 

sprinkled  dust  upon  their  heads']  that  is,  they  threw  dust  upwards 
towards  heaven,  which  fell  upon  their  heads,  the  gesture  inlimaling 
perhaps  that  they  were  laid  ia  the  dust  by  a  calamity  sent  from  heaven; 
comp.  Josh.  vii.  6;  i  Sam.  iv.  12;  Lam.  ii.  10.     See  on  i.  20. 

13.  none  spake  a  word]  Being  overwhelmed  by  the  affecting  sight 
before  them  ;  as  the  Author  adds  :  they  saw  that  the  ,£^ricf,  i.e.  the  pain 
or  affliction,  was  very  great.  Comp.  Ezek.  iii.  15.  The  length  of  tmie 
during  which  they  sat  in  silence,  seven  days  and  seven  nights  (the  time 
of  mourning  for  the  dead,  Gen.  1.  10;  i.  Sam.  xxxi.  13),  shews  the  pro- 
found impression  made  upon  them. 

Ch.  III.  Moved  by  the  sympathising  presence  of  his  friends, 
Job  loses  his  self-comtrol,  and  breaks  out  into  a  pas- 
sionate CRY  FOR  DEATH. 

The  expressive  gestures  of  Job's  friends  betokened  the  liveliest 
sympathy,  and  their  silence  of  seven  days  indicated  how  awful  they 
felt  his  calamity  to  be.  And  we  often  learn  how  to  estimate  our  own 
situation  from  the  countenances  of  others,  and  the  passing  movements  on 
the  faces  around  us  rule  the  tide  of  feeling  in  our  own  breasts.  From 
the  sentiments  which  the  three  friends  gave  utterance  to  afterwards  we 
know  that  very  mixed  feelings  may  have  led  to  their  silence  and 
dismay,  but  if  so,  such  a  thing  was  unsuspected  by  Job.  He  was  so 
conscious  of  his  own  innocence  that  he  never  supposed"  that  others  could 
suspect  it,  and  he  saw  only  sympathy  and  friendship  and  the  reflection 
of  his  great  misery  in  his  friends'  demeanour.  Formerly  he  was  able  to 
rebuke  the  suggestions  of  the  woman,  his  wife,  and  restrain  himself.  But 
now  he  is  in  the  presence  of  men  his  fellows,  the  companions  of  his 
former  prosperity,  and  his  self-control  deserts  him,  and  he  breaks  out 
into  a  passionate  cry  that  he  might  die. 

This  cry  of  misery  is  thrice  repeated  in  the  chapter : 

1 — 10.     Would  God  I  had  never  been  conceived  or  bom. 

11 — 19.     Would  God  I  had  died  from  my  birth. 

20 — 26.  Why  docs  God  continue  life  to  the  wretched,  who  long  for 
death? 

1 — 10.    Would  God  I  had  never  been  conceived  or  born. 

This  is  the  idea  really  expressed  when  Job  curses  his  day  and  wishes 
it  blotted  out  of  existence.  First  he  curses  the  day  of  his  birth  and  the 
night  of  his  conception  together,  v.  3,  and  then  each  separately,  the 
day  in  two  verses  and   the  night   in   four.      Let   darkness   seize  that 


vv-  I -5-] JOB,   III.  19 

After  this  opened  Job  his  mouth,  and  cursed  his  day.  3 
And  Job  spake,  and  said,  ^ 

Let  the  day  perish  wherein  I  was  born,  3 

And  the  night  in  which  it  was  said, 
There  is  a  man  child  conceived. 
Let  that  day  be  darlcness;  4 

Let  not  God  regard  it  from  above, 
Neither  let  the  light  shine  upon  it. 

Let  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death  stain  it;  s 

Let  a  cloud  dwell  upon  it; 
Let  the  blackness  of  the  day  terrify  it. 

day ;  let  not  God  from  above  seek  after  it ;  let  thick  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death  claim  it  as  part  of  their  heritage  ;  let  clouds  and  all 
that  maketh  black  the  day,  eclipses,  ominous  obscurations,  affright  it, 
vv.  4,  5.  Let  darkness  swallow  up  that  night  that  it  be  not  reckoned 
nor  come  in  among  the  joyful  troop  of  niglits  in  their  glittering  pro- 
cession ;  while  other  nights  ring  with  birth-day  gladness  let  it  sit  barren; 
let  enchanters  curse  it ;  let  it  be  endless,  waiting  always  for  a  dawn  that 
never  breaks,  vv.  6 — 10. 

1.  atrsed  his  day']  The  day  of  his  birth.  Reverent  minds  have  always 
found  difficulty  in  accommodating  themselves  to  the  religious  boldness 
of  the  Book  of  Job.  A  curious  instance  of  this  is  given  in  the  Catena 
of  Greek  interpreters  on  Job,  where  one  writer  interprets  Job's  "day" 
to  be  the  day  when  man  fell  from  righteousness  to  sin.  The  same 
feeling  has  influenced  the  translation  of  xiii.  15  and  xix.  25. 

_  3.  night  in  -which  it  was  said]  Rather,  the  night  whicll  said.  The 
night  is_  personified  and  cursed  as  a  conscious  agent,  responsible  for 
Job's  existence,  comp.  v.  10. 

There  is  a  man  child  conceived]  Rather,  a  man ;  "A  woman  when  she 
is  in  travail  hath  sorrow ;  but  as  soon  as  she  is  delivered  of  the  child 
she  remembereth  no  more  the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into 
the  world,"  John  xvi.  21. 

4.  regard  it]  lit.  seek  after  it,  or  care  for  it.  Let  it  perish  from  His 
mind  that  He  cause  no  sun  to  rise  upon  it. 

5.  shadow  of  death  stain  it]  Rather,  claim  it,  lit.  redeem  it.  Let  it 
become  part  of  the  possession  of  darkness.  The  word,  however,  does 
not  mean  ;vclaim,  as  if  the  idea  were  that  the  day  had  been  won  from 
darkness  by  light  and  was  to  be  reconquered.  The  translation  "shadow 
of  death''  possibly  rests  on  a  false  etymology;  at  the  same  time  it  is 
perhaps  the  best  that  can  be  given,  and  Hitzig's  conjecture  that  the 
Hebrews  themselves  came  to  see  the  word  "death"  in  the  termination 
of  the  form  may  not  be  far  astray,  comp.  Job  xxxviii.  17.  The  word 
originally  means  "  deepest  darkness." 

the  blackness  of  the  day]  lit.  blacknesses.  The  word  probably  means 
"all  that  makes  black  the  day,"  eclipses,  supernatural  obscurations  and 
the  like — all  ominous  darknesses  that  terrify  a  day. 


20  JOB,   III.  [vv.  6—9. 

i      As  for  that  night,  let  darkness  seize  upon  it; 

Let  it  not  be  joined  unto  the  days  of  the  year, 

Let  it  not  come  into  the  number  of  the  months. 

Lo,  let  that  niglit  be  solitary, 

Let  no  joyful  voice  come  therein, 
:      Let  them  curse  it  that  curse  the  day, 

Who  are  ready  to  raise  up  their  mourning, 
i      Let  the  stars  of  the  twilight  thereof  be  dark; 

6.  let  it  not  be  Joined  unto]  Rather,  let  it  not  rejoice  among^.     Let 

it  not  enter  the  joyful  troop  of  days,  glad  in  its  existence  and  its  beauty. 
Another  way  of  spelling  the  word  gives  the  meaning,  let  it  not  be 
joined  unto. 

7.  be  solitaryl  Rather  perhaps,  ban-en,  as  Is.  xlix.  11.  Let  it  not 
experience  a  parent's  joy,  and  let  nought  that  lives  date  its  birth  from  it. 

710  joyful  voice]  of  birthday  rejoicing. 

8.  The  most  probable  sense  of  this  verse  is. 

Let  them  that  curse  days  curse  it, 
Them  that  are  skilled  to  rouse  up  the  Dragon. 
They  that  curse  days  or  the  day  are  enchanters  and  magicians,  who  were 
believed  to  have  power  to  cast  their  spells  upon  a  day  and  overwhelm  it 
with  darkness  and  misfortune.  Perhaps,  however,  the  first  half  of  the 
verse  is  explained  by  the  second,  and  only  one  species  of  enchantment 
referred  to,  namely,  rousing  up  the  Dragon.  The  Heb.  word  is  leviathan. 
This  name  is  given  in  ch.  xli.  to  a  sea  or  river  monster,  probably,  the 
crocodile,  but  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  logical  connexion  between  rousing 
up  the  crocodile  and  cursing  days.  The  word  leviathan  means  twisted 
or  having  folds,  and  is  an  epithet  for  a  serpent.  In  Is.  xxvii.  i  we  read: 
In  that  day  Jehovah  with  his  sore  and  great  and  strong  sword  shall 
visit  leviathan  the  fleeing  serpent,  and  leviathan  the  serpent  with  coils. 
The  key  to  the  meaning  of  the  verse,  however,  is  found  in  Job  xxvi.  13, 
which  rightly  rendered  means, 

Ey  His  breath  the  heavens  become  bright, 

His  hand  pierceth  the  fleeing  serpent. 
Here  piercing  the  ilccuig  serpent  and  making  the  heavens  clear  are 
parallel  acts.  The  fleeing  serpent,  therefore,  was  the  cause  of  the 
darkness.  In  both  passages  in  Job  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  popular 
mythology,  according  to  which  the  darkening  or  eclipse  of  the  sun  and 
moon  was  caused  by  the  serpent  throwing  its  folds  around  them,  or 
swallowing  them  up.  In  its  origin  this  mythology  is  probably  nothing 
more  than  a  stroke  of  the  poetic  imagination,  which  turned  the  dark 
cloud  or  eclipsing  shadow  into  a  huge  Dragon.  Enchanters  were  sup- 
posed to  have  power  to  set  this  Dragon  in  motion,  and  cause  the  lights 
of  day  or  night  to  be  swallowed  up. 

9.  the  t'wilight  thereof]  that  is,  the  morning  twilight  of  that  night. 
Let  its  morning  stars,  that  should  herald  its  day,  go  out — as  the  next 
clause  explains  :  let  it  look  for  the  light  of  a  day  that  never  breaks. 


vv.  10—14]  JOB,   III.  21 

Let  it  look  for  light,  but  have  none; 

Neither  let  it  see  the  dawning  of  the  day: 

Because  it  shut  not  up  the  doors  of  my  mofher's  womb, 

Nor  hid  sorrow  from  mine  eyes. 

Why  died  I  not  from  the  womb  ? 

Why  did  I  not  give  up  the  ghost  when  I  came  out  of  the 

belly? 
Why  did  the  knees  prevent  me  ? 
Or  why  the  breasts  that  I  should  suck  ? 
For  now  should  I  have  lien  siill  and  been  quiet, 
I  should  have  slept:  then  had  I  been  at  rest. 
With  kings  and  counsellers  of  the  earth, 
Which  built  desolate  places  for  themselves; 

see  the  dawning  of  the  day"]  lit.  behold  the  eyelids  of  the  morning.  This 
beautiful  figure  looks  like  an  idea  from  Western  poetry,  just  as  the 
chamber  of  the  Sun,  Ps.  xix.  5.  All  commentators  quote  the  parallel 
from  Sophocles,  xp'^'^^"-^  afiipa^  ^\i(papov,  Antigone,  103. 

10.  the  doors  of  my  viother's  wombl  to  hinder  conception  or  fruit- 
fulness.  Gen.  XX.  18  ;  i  Sam.  i.  5.  The  crime  of  the  night  is  deferred 
to  the  last,  and  the  curse  closes  with  the  mention  of  it. 

11 — 19.    Would  God  I  had  died  from  my  birth. 

If  he  must  be  born.  Job  asks,  Why  he  did  not  die  from  the  womb? 
his  eye  turning  to  the  next  possibility  and  chance  of  escaping  sorrow. 
Had  he  died  he  would  have  been  at  peace;  and  tlie  picture  of  the  pain- 
less stillness  of  death  fascinates  him  and  he  dwells  long  on  it,  counting 
over  with  a  minute  particularity  all  classes,  kings  and  prisoners,  slaves 
and  masters,  small  and  great,  who  there  drink  deep  of  a  common 
peace,  escaping  the  unquietness  of  life,  for  life  upon  the  earth,  however 
lived,  is  full  of  a  painful  restlessness.  The  thought  of  this  stillness  of 
death  brings  a  certain  calm  to  the  sufferer's  mind,  and  the  passionate- 
ness  of  his  former  words  subsides. 

12.  the  knees  prevent  me]  Rather,  receive,  or  meet  me.  The 
reference  may  be  to  the  father's  knees,  on  which  the  new  bom  child 
was  laid,  or  more  general.  As  to  the  expression,  see  Gen.  1.  23  ; 
Is.  Ixvi.  12.  The  sufferer's  eye  nms  over  all  the  chances  of  death 
which  he  had  miserably  lost,  when  he  came  from  the  womb,  was  laid 
upon  the  knees,  and  pressed  to  the  breasts.  The  sorrow  of  his  later 
years  transmutes  (as  it  does  still  with  others)  the  tender  affections  and 
solicitudes  lavished  on  his  infancy,  and  makes  them  seem  bitter  cruelties. 

13.  The  words  receive  their  pathos  from  the  contrast  of  his  present 
anguish,  v.  26. 

14.  which  built  desolate  places]  The  expression  seems  to  be  that 
which  occurs  several  times  in  Scripture,  e.g.  Is.  Iviii.  12,  Ixi.  4;  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  10,  33 ;  Mai.  i.  4,  and  means  to  build  up  or  rebuild  ruins,  i.  e. 


22  JOB,   III.  [vv.  15— tS. 

Or  with  princes  that  had  gold, 

Who  filled  their  houses  ivith  silver: 

Or  as  a  hidden  untimely  birth  I  had  not  been; 

As  infants  zoJiich  never  saw  light. 

There  the  wicked  z(^-\%q.  from  troubling; 

And  there  the  weary  be  at  rest. 

There  the  prisoners  rest  together; 

They  hear  not  the  voice  of  the  oppressor. 

cities  or  habitations  desolated  or  abandoned,  and  make  them  again  in- 
habited. If  this  be  the  meaning  tlie  phrase  must  ho.  used  in  a  general 
way  to  indicate  the  greatness  of  those  kings  and  counsellors  when  they 
were  alive  and  the  renown  they  won.  To  this  idea  the  words  in  v.  15, 
princes  who  had  gold,  form  a  parallel.  The  speaker  wishes  to  indicate 
that  instead  of  lying  in  squalor  and  being  the  contempt  of  the  low-born 
race  of  men  as  he  now  is  (ch.  xxx.),  if  he  had  died  he  would  have  been 
in  company  of  the  great  dead  who  played  famous  parts  in  life.  This 
appears  to  be  the  general  idea  of  the  words,  but  the  phrase  "  built 
desolate  places  for  themselves"  is  too  vague  in  such  a  connexion,  and 
the  words  "for  themselves"  suggest  something  definite  and  well-known 
as  that  which  they  built,  as  does  the  parallel  expression  "who  filled 
their  houses  with  silver."  The  Hebrew  word  "  desolate  places  "  has  a 
distant  resemblance  in  sound  to  the  Egyptian  word  Pyramids,  and  some 
adopt  this  sense  here.     There  may  be  some  corruption  of  the  Text. 

15.  their  houses  ivith  silver^  There  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that 
"  houses "  means  mausoleums  or  tombs.  The  reference  is  not  to  the 
practice  of  burying  treasures  along  with  the  dead,  nor  to  the  idea  that 
the  pomp  of  riches  could  thus  be  perpetuated  in  death.  It  is  those  who 
were  famous  in  this  life  with  whom  Job,  had  he  died,  would  have  been 
in  company  in  death. 

16.  With  strong  revulsion  from  the  anguish  of  life  Job  desires  even  if 
possible  a  deeper  death  than  to  have  died  when  born,  even  the  death  of 
having  been  dead  born,  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  non-existence 
itself.  Comp.  Eccles.  iv.  2,  3,  with  Plumptre's  notes  and  citations  from 
the  classics. 

17.  cease  from  iroubliuif]  That  is,  probably,  not  from  troubling  others, 
but  from  the  unquiet  of  their  own  evil.  Verses  17 — 19  contain  the  two 
main  ideas,  first,  that  all,  evil  and  good,  great  and  small,  are  the  same  in 
the  place  of  the  dead;  and  second,  that  this  common  condition  is  one  of 
profound  rest.  Even  the  wicked  there  are  no  more  agitated  by  the 
turbulence  of  their  passions.     Comp.  Is.  Ivii.  20. 

the  weary']     lit.  the  wearied  as  to  strength,  the  exhausted. 

18.  the  prisoners  rest  together]  The  "prisoners"  are  not  those 
immured  in  prison,  but  captives  driven  to  forced  labour. 

the  oppressor]  The  taskmaster,  Ex.  iii.  7.  The  prisoners  are  there  all 
together,  and  they  hear  not  the  voice,  the  shouts  and  curses  of  the  driver 
(ch.  xxxix.  7). 


vv.  19—23.]  JOB,  III.  23 

The  small  and  great  are.  there ;  1 

And  the  servant  is  free  from  his  master. 

Wherefore  is  hght  given  to  him  that  is  in  misery,  -. 

And  Ufe  unto  the  bitter  in  soul ; 

Which  long  for  death,  but  it  cometh  not;  : 

And  dig  for  it  more  than  for  hid  treasures; 

Which  rejoice  exceedingly,  : 

And  are  glad,  when  they  can  find  the  grave? 

Why  is  light  ^iv €71  to  a  man  whose  way  is  hid,  : 

And  whom  God  hath  hedged  in  ? 

19.  small  and  great  are  thcre\  i.e.  are  there  alike,  the  same. 

20 — 26.    Why  does  God  continue  life  to  the  wretched,  who 
long  for  death? 

The  vision  of  the  peacefulness  of  death  passes  away,  and  Job 
awakens  again  to  the  consciousness  of  his  real  condition,  and  his  words, 
which  had  sunk  into  calmness  as  he  contemplated  the  peace  of  death, 
now  seem  to  rise  again  like  the  storm  after  a  lull.  Wherefore  gives  He 
light  to  him  that  is  in  misery  ?  He  does  not  name  though  he  alludes  to 
God,  and  the  indirect  reference  though  partly  due  to  reverence  betrays  a 
rising  alienation  in  his  heart.  His  question  is  one  of  anguish  and  im- 
patience. His  own  condition  throws  its  gloom  over  all  human  life,  and 
he  puts  the  question  first  generally,  vv.  20 — 22  ;  there  are  many  like  him 
seeking  death  and  unable  to  find  it,  who  would  exult  for  joy  if  they 
could  find  the  grave.  Then  he  comes  to  the  individual,  v.  23,  meaning 
himself.  Wherefore  gives  He  life  to  the  man  whose  way  is  hid  ?  the  man 
who  cannot  see  and  cannot  move,  who  can  discover  no  solution  of  the 
riddle  of  his  life,  and  find  no  course  of  action  to  relieve  himself,  who 
lies  in  the  grasp  of  a  calamity  which  has  too  surely  come  from  God,  and 
which  has  introduced  confusion  among  all  the  principles  of  religion 
which  he  has  hitherto  held  and  into  the  relation  to  God  in  which  he  has 
hitherto  stood,  v.  23.  And  finally  he  adds  some  touches  to  the  pic- 
ture of  his  misery,  his  constant  moaning,  and  the  unbroken  succession 
of  troubles  that  afflict  him,  which  come  so  thick  that  he  has  no  respite 
from  one  before  another  overtakes  him,  vv.  24 — 26. 

20.  Wherefore  is  light  given']  This  is  a  possible  translation,  but  more 
probably  we  should  render,  wherefore  gives  He  light?  the  Author  of 
light  and  life  being  alluded  to  obliquely  and  not  named.  The  bitter  is 
plur.,  those  that  are  bitter  in  soul.  Job's  eye  looks  over  mankind  and 
sees  many  in  the  same  condition  of  miseiy  as  himself.  Comp.  ch.  vii. 
I  seq. 

22.  rejoice  exceedingly']     lit.  rejoice  even  to  exultation,  Hos.  ix.  i. 

23.  whose  way  is  hid]  Job  now  narrows  his  view  from  the  general 
sorrows  of  mankind  to  himself  His  way  is  hid  or  lost,  the  clear  path 
of  his  former  life  has  suddenly  broken  off,  or  as  the  second  clause  of  the 
verse  expresses  it,  has  been  shut  in  by  a  hedge,  set  by  God  across  it. 


24  JOB,   III.  [vv.  24—26. 

For  my  sighing  cometh  before  I  eat, 

And  my  roarings  are  poured  out  like  the  waters. 

For  the  thing  which  I  greatly  feared  is  come  upon  me, 

And  that  which  I  was  afraid  of  is  come  unto  me. 

I  was  not  in  safety,  neither   had  I  rest,  neither  was  I 

quiet; 
Yet  trouble  came. 

The  reference  is  not  merely  to  his  physical  calamities,  but  much  more  to 
the  speculative  and  religious  perplexities  which  his  calamities  wove 
about  his  mind,  and  from  which  he  can  find  no  outlet,  cf.  xix.  8. 

24.  before  I  eat]  lit.  de/ore  my  meat,  as  margin.  The  temporal 
meaning  of  before  gives  no  sense  here.  In  i  Sam.  i.  16  the  same  ex- 
pression occurs,  "Count  not  thine  handmaid y^r  a  daughter  of  Belial." 
Therefore  render,  my  sighing  co\\\G.\X\for  (instead  of,  or,  like)  my  meat; 
it  is  his  constant,  daily  food. 

like  the  waters]  Rather,  like  water,  i.e.  a  broad,  unbroken  stream. 

25,  26.     the  thing  which  I  feared]     These  two  verses  read  thus. 

For  let  me  fear  an  evil,  and  it  cometh  upon  me, 
And  whatsoever  I  dread,  it  overtakes  me; 
I  have  no  ease,  neither  quiet  nor  rest. 
But  trouble  cometh. 

The  whole  passage  from  v.  20  describes  Job's  present  condition.  The 
speaker  says,  if  he  but  imagines  an  evil,  if  he  but  "fears  a  fear,"  it  is 
immediately  upon  him.  The  words  are  put  hypothetically  in  the  past 
tense  :  Have  I  feared  a  fear,  it  cometh  upon  me ;  but  the  reference 
cannot  be  to  the  real  past,  as  in  the  English  Version,  because  it  would 
be  contrary  to  the  idea  of  the  poem  to  suppose  that  Job  even  in  the  days 
of  his  golden  prime  was  haunted  with  indefinite  fears  of  coming  misfor- 
tune. On  the  contrary  the  picture  he  gives  of  iiimself,  ch.  xxix.,  shews 
that  his  piety  reflected  itself  in  a  full  and  trustful  peace  of  mind;  see  his 
own  words  ch.  xvi.  12,  xxix.  18  sey. 

Verse  26  means  that  Job  has  no  pause  between  the  waves  of  his 
affliction,  no  time  to  recover  from  one  before  another  overwhelms  him. 
"  Trouble  "  here  is  the  fit  or  paroxysm  of  trouble. 

Job's  three  friends  sat  silent  before  him  seven  days.  Then  Job  spake 
and  cursed  his  day.  His  speech  opened  his  friends'  mouths  and  pro- 
bably also  their  eyes.  Job's  language  and  demeanour  v/ere  not  what 
they  would  have  looked  for  from  one  in  his  condition.  His  violent 
complaints  and  his  indirect  allusions  to  Heaven  were  not  only  unbecom- 
ing in  themselves,  but  cast  an  unwelcome  light  upon  his  past  life.  Job 
speaks  no  doubt  with  the  passion  of  despair  and  in  the  bitterness  of  his 
misery,  and  his  indirect  allusions  to  God  betray  impatience  and  are 
uttered  with  a  tone  of  resentment,  though  there  is  as  yet  no  direct 
charge  of  injustice  against  God,  only  an  impatient  demand  why  He  con- 
tinues life  to  one  in  such  misery.  His  tone  of  mind  is  very  different  from 
that  exhibited  when  his  trials  had  newly  befallen  him  or  when  he  replied 


JOB,   IV.  25 

to  the  suggestions  of  his  wife.  And  it  is  this  tone,  suggesting  so  much 
more  than  it  expressed,  that  the  three  friends  lay  hold  of  and  attach 
their  exhortations  to,  and  which  is  thus  the  point  out  of  which  the 
whole  succeeding  debate  developes  itself. 

Ch.  IV. — XXXI.     The  debate  between  Job  and  his  friends 
ON  the  question  of  his  sufferings  and  on  the  meaning 

OF  EVIL   IN   general. 

This  Debate  occupies  the  whole  body  of  the  Book.  It  attaches 
itself  to  Job's  passionate  cry  for  death  and  his  impatient  allusions  to 
Heaven  in  ch.  iii.  The  tone  of  this  speech  the  friends  cannot  refrain 
from  reprobating — they  must  speak  (ch.  iv.  '1) ;  and  thus  the  warfare  of 
words  commences.  The  subject  to  begin  with  is  Job's  sufferings,  but 
naturally  the  discussion  widens  out,  so  as  to  embrace  the  whole  question 
of  the  meaning  and  purposes  of  calamity  or  evil  in  general.  As  the 
debate  on  the  meaning  of  suffering  occupies  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
Book,  we  must  assume  that  one  of  the  main  intentions  of  the  Author  in 
writing  his  poem  was  to  let  light  in  upon  this  question  from  various 
sides  and  present  ancient  and  current  as  well  as  new  views  regarding  it. 
And  as  he  allows  the  three  friends  to  be  brought  to  silence  by  Job,  we 
may  be  sure  that  it  was  his  purpose  to  discredit  the  theories  which  they 
represented  and  to  teach  that  they  could  not  any  longer  be  maintained. 
Job  in  his  speeches  has  no  theory,  he  contributes  nothing  positive.  The 
part  he  plays  is  merely  negative  and  destructive.  But  in  confuting  the 
friends  he  clears  the  ground  of  the  old  encumbrances,  and  in  their  place 
the  Author  himself  brings  forward  his  new  truth  regarding  the  meaning 
of  suffering,  which  he  exhibits  in  a  highly  dramatic  form  in  the  Pro- 
logue. Both  Job  and  his  friends  debate  the  question  ignorant  of  the 
real  cause  of  Job's  calamities,  and  neither  they  nor  he  approach  the 
true  solution.  The  Author  allows  us  who  watch  the  debate  to  know 
that  Job's  sufferings  were  a  trial  of  his  righteousness.  Thus  the  Pro- 
logue sei-ves  the  same  purpose  as  the  prologue  in  the  Greek  drama, 
it  introduces  the  actors,  and  supplies  the  spectators  with  the  informa- 
tion needful  to  understand  the  action. 

The  Author  allows  three  persons  to  confront  Job  and  maintain  against 
him  the  traditional  beliefs.  It  is  possible  that  the  number  as  well  as 
the  names  of  Job's  friends  may  belong  to  the  tradition  upon  which  the 
Author  worked.  If  not,  he  may  mean  to  indicate  by  the  number  three 
the  widespread  currency  and  general  acceptance  of  the  views  they  ad- 
vocate. The  friends  have  each  a  well-marked  individuality,  and  repre- 
sent distinct  aspects  of  religious  conviction  among  mankind.  Eliphaz, 
who  on  each  occasion  opens  the  debate,  is  the  most  dignified,  the 
calmest  and  most  considerate,  and  perhaps  the  oldest  of  Job's  friends. 
He  is  a  man  almost  of  Prophetic  rank,  who  speaks  with  the  composure 
and  authority  and  clear  eye  of  a  seer,  as  one  to  whom  revelations  by 
vision  have  been  granted  from  Heaven  (iv.  12  seg.).  Bildad,  a  man  of 
less  consideration,  is  a  representative  of  the  class  of  the  Wise  (Jerem. 
xviii.  18;  Prov.  i.  6);  an  observer  of  life,  one  who  generalizes  on  the 
ways  of  God  to  man,  whose  mind  is  stored  with  the  priceless  moral 


26  JOB,   IV. 

precedents  of  past  ages,  and  who  reposes  upon  llie  conclusions  of 
thoughtful  men  of  all  times  (ch.  viii.).  While  Zophar  is  the  private 
religious  man  of  strong  personal  conviction,  who  doubtless  lives  by  the 
truth  he  believes,  and  cannot  imagine  how  any  one  should  question  it ; 
who  gets  irritated  and  indulges  in  unworthy  imputations  against  any 
one  who  disputes  the  truth  of  his  principles.  All  three  were  sincere 
men,  though  their  sincerity  had  never  perhaps  been  put  to  the  proof  as 
Job's  had  been. 

The  three  friends  come  to  the  contemplation  of  Job's  sufferings,  and 
to  the  discussion  of  the  meaning  of  them,  with  a  principle  which  they  all 
agree  in  holding.  Like  all  Shemitic  thinkers  they  have  no  idea  of  what 
we  call  second  causes.  In  their  view  God  is  in  immediate  relation  to 
the  world  and  the  lives  of  men,  and  does  all  directly  that  happens. 
Evil  and  Good  come  immediately  from  His  hand  ;  and  being  a  righteous 
ruler  every  event  of  His  providence  must  be  either  a  reward  of  good  or  a 
retribution  on  evil.  It  is  invariably  well  with  the  righteous  and  ill  with 
the  wicked,  or  perhaps  more  strictly,  it  is  invariably  well  with  righteous- 
ness and  ill  with  wickedness.  For  even  the  righteous  may  do  evil,  for 
what  man  is  he  that  sinneth  not  ?  and  his  evil  will  bring  down  punish- 
ment upon  it.  But  God  is  far  from  being  an  impersonal  moral  balance, 
weighing  out  happiness  and  adversity  according  to  the  deserts  of  men, 
with  no  interest  in  their  fate.  On  the  contrary.  His  eyes  are  on  the 
righteous,  and  though  He  chastens  them  for  their  sin,  His  chastisement 
is  not  in  order  that  they  may  perish  (iv.  7),  it  is  correction,  meant  to 
wean  them  from  their  evil  and  turn  them  again  in  humility  and  re- 
pentance unto  righteousness.  Therefore  "happy  is  the  man  whom  God 
correcteth"  (ch.  v.  17) ;  such  correction  is  an  arrest  laid  upon  him  in 
his  way  of  evil.  Calamity  therefore  is  not  in  itself  decisive  of  the 
character  of  a  man,  though  it  is  decisive  of  the  fact  that  he  has  sinned. 
The  issue  of  calamity  only  can  shew  what  a  man  really  is.  If  he  is  a 
righteous  man,  he  accepts  it  as  the  warning  of  God  and  turns  from  his 
evil,  and  his  future  life  is  filled  with  blessings  from  God,  and  he  shall 
enjoy  length  of  days  and  all  prosperity  (v.  19 — 27).  If  he  is  evil  he 
murmurs  and  rejects  the  divine  correction,  and  brings  wrath  upon  him- 
self and  perishes  (v.  2).  These  principles  explain  the  course  pursued  by 
the  three  friends  towards  Job.  However  strange  it  might  seem  to  them 
they  had  no  help  but  to  conclude  that  Job,  though  a  righteous  man  as 
they  had  always  thought  him,  and  continued  to  think  him,  had  been 
guilty  of  acts  of  sin  very  displeasing  unto  God.  And  the  temper  he 
displayed  under  his  afflictions  alarmed  them:  it  was  the  very  temper  of 
the  ungodly  (v.  2).  Hence  one  after  another  they  earnestly  warn  and 
exhort  him  to  turn  in  humility  and  reiienlanca  unto  God  ;  and  they  draw 
bright  pictures  of  the  happy  future  which  he  shall  yet  enjoy. 

As  for  Job  he  agreed  with  his  three  friends  in  believing  that  all 
events  occurred  through  the  immediate  agency  of  God ;  good  and  evil 
came  directly  from  His  hand.  Further  he  agreed  with  them  that  evil  or 
suffering  was  inflicted  by  God  on  those  whom  He  held  guilty  of  having 
sinned.  But  Job's  consciousness  of  his  own  iimocence  forbad  his  drawing 
the  conclusion  with  his  friends  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  great  and 
specific  offences.     He  knew  he  had  not.     He  was  driven  therefore  to 


JOB,   IV.  27 

the  conclusion  that,  though  he  was  not  guilty,  God  had  resolved  to  hold 
him  guilty  (ix.  29  and  often),  and  treat  him  as  if  he  were  so.  Hence  he 
is  led  to  charge  God  with  injustice.  This  feeling  shines  dimly  through 
his  words  in  ch.  iii.,  and  his  friends  detected  it,  but  under  their  provo- 
cations and  insinuations  of  his  guilt  he  boldly  avows  his  conviction  of 
God's  injustice,  and  throws  it  out  with  a  passionate  fury  appalling  to  a 
reverent  mind.  This  however  is  but  one  side  of  the  conflict  going  on  in 
his  mind.  There  are  other  currents  of  feeling  that  run  side  by  side 
with  this  one.  The  action  of  the  drama  is  nothing  else  than  the  pro- 
gress of  feeling  in  Job's  mind  under  his  sufferings  and  the  views  re- 
garding them  presented  by  his  friends.  This  progress,  however,  will  be 
better  understood  when  the  chapters  are  read. 

It  is  evident  that  the  alienation  of  Job's  mind  from  God  was  increased 
and  his  feelings  embittered  by  the  insinuations  and  the  misdirected 
advice  of  his  friends.  We  should  be  deviating,  however,  from  the  line 
of  the  Author's  conception  if  we  were  to  regard  the  provocations  of  the 
friends  as  a  third  or  separate  temptation.  Job's  trial  was  merely  his 
afflictions,  narrated  in  the  prologue.  This  trial  continued.  The  friends 
only  set  it  in  a  particular  light.  Before  they  arrived,  or  at  least  before 
they  spoke,  Job's  mind  had  already  drifted  away  from  the  attitude  of 
reverent  submission  which  he  took  up  when  his  afflictions  newly  befell 
him.  The  friends  add  to  his  perplexity,  but  they  are  little  else  than 
voices  that  give  body  to  the  thoughts  that  must  have  risen  and  struggled 
in  his  own  mind.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  Satan  no  more  appears. 
With  the  infliction  of  Job's  calamities  his  part  is  ended.  The  super- 
natural agencies  of  the  Prologue  are  no  more  called  into  requisition.  It 
is  plain  indeed  that  the  scenes  in  the  Prologue  are  nothing  but  a  splendidly 
dramatic  form  adopted  by  the  Author  for  putting  before  us  his  new 
truth  that  calamities  may  befall  the  righteous  not  for  any  evil  they  have 
done  but  in  order  to  try  their  righteousness  and  through  the  trial  to 
perfect  it. 

The  great  debate  is  divided  into  three  circles  of  speeches :  (i)  ch.  iv. — 
xiv.  ;  (2)  ch.  XV. — xxi. ;  (3)  ch.  xxii. — xxxi.  Each  of  these  three  circles 
contains  six  speeches,  one  by  each  of  the  three  friends  in  succession,  with  a 
reply  from  Job.  In  the  last  round,  however,  the  third  speaker,  Zophar, 
fails  to  come  forward.  This  is  a  confession  of  defeat ;  and  Job,  re- 
suming the  thread  of  his  reply  to  Bildad,  carries  it  through  a  series  of 
chapters,  in  which,  with  a  profound  pathos,  he  contrasts  his  former 
greatness  with  his  present  misery,  protests  his  innocence  before  Heaven, 
and  adjures  God  to  reveal  to  him  the  cause  of  his  afflictions. 

Ch.  IV. — XIV.     The  first  circle  of  speeches. 

Ch.  IV.  V.    The  speech  of  Elipiiaz. 

Eliphaz  attaches  his  speech  to  Job's  despairing  cry  in  ch.  iii.  The 
tone  of  Job's  words  and  his  state  of  mind  seem  to  him  strange  and  very 
far  from  right.  And  though  he  would  gladly  be  silent  and  spare  one 
in  Job's  condition,  yet  he  is  constrained  to  speak  (iv.  2).  Proceeding 
to  speak,  Eliphaz  gives  expression  to   three  thoughts,   each  of  which 


28  JOB,    IV.  [vv.  I,  2. 

4  Then  Eliphaz  the  Temanite  answered  and  said, 

2      Jf  we  assay  to  commune  with  thee,  wilt  thou  be  grieved? 

bears  on  the  tone  and  temper  displayed  by  Job  in  his  cry  of  despair 
(ch.  iii.). 

1 — H.  First,  Eliphaz  wonders  that  Job,  who  had  comforted  so  many 
in  trouble,  and  who  was  a  righteous  man,  should  fall  into  such  despair 
under  his  afflictions,  forgetting  the  great  principle  that  the  righteous 
never  perish  under  affliction.  Calamity  destroys  only  the  wicked  ;  the 
affliction  of  the  righteous  is  designed  to  have  a  very  different  issue. 

12. — V.  7.  Second, — proceeding  with  deeper  earnestness — he  must 
advert  to  Job's  murmurs  against  Heaven  and  warn  him  from  them.  For 
can  any  man  have  right  on  his  side  in  complaining  of  God?  Only  the 
ungodly  resent  the  dealing  of  God  with  them.  By  their  impatience 
under  affliction  they  bring  down  God's  final  anger  upon  them,  so  that 
they  perish. 

8 — 27.  Third,  surely  instead  of  despairing  and  murmuring  under  his 
afflictions  Job  should  follow  a  very  different  way.  I,  says  Eliphaz, 
putting  himself  in  Job's  place,  would  seek  unto  God,  all  whose  doings 
are  directed  to  the  saving  of  the  meek  and  disappointing  the  devices  of 
the  evil.  When  He  smites,  He  smites  only  that  He  may  the  more  pro- 
foundly heal.  Happy  should  the  man  count  himself  whom  God  corrects, 
for  his  correction  is  meant  to  awaken  him  out  of  his  dream  of  evil  and 
lead  him  into  a  broader,  clearer  life,  rich  in  blessings,  and  to  be  crowned 
with  a  ripe  and  peaceful  end. 

This  beautiful  speech  consists  of  three  parts,  of  which  the  first  contains 
a  single  division,  ch.  iv.  i — ii  ;  the  second,  two  divisions,  ch.  iv.  12 — 
•21,  and  ch.  v.  i — 7;  and  so  also  the  third,  ch.  v.  8 — 16,  and  ch.  v. 
17-27. 

Ch.  IV.  1—11.  El.IPIIAZ  WONDERS  THAT  JOB,  WHO  HAD  COM- 
FORTED SO  MANY  IN  TROUBLE,  AND  WAS  A  RIGHTEOUS  MAN, 
SHOULD   FALL  INTO   SUCH   DESPAIR   UNDER   HIS  AFFLICTIONS. 

Eliphaz  would  gladly  have  kept  silence  in  the  circumstances  of  his 
friend,  but  the  tone  of  Job's  words  constrains  him  to  speak  {v.  2).  He 
wonders  at  the  despondency  of  Job,  one  who  had  shewn  himself  so 
skilful  in  comforting  other  good  men  in  affliction  [vv.  3,  4),  and  who  was 
himself  a  righteous  man.  He  should  place  confidence  in  his  righteous- 
ness, and  remember  that  the  righteous  never  perish  under  atlliction. 
God  does  not  send  trouble  upon  them  to  destroy  them,  but  for  very 
different  ends  (e/w.  6,  7).  It  is  only  the  wicked  whom  He  chastises  unto 
death,  and  causes  to  reap  the  trouble  which  they  sow  [vv.  8,  9),  and 
perish  like  beasts  of  prey  {''v.  10,  11).  Eliphaz's  doctrine  of  the  mean- 
ing of  suffering  or  evil  comes  out  in  the  very  forefront  of  his  remon- 
strance with  Job. 

2.    If  zve  assay  to  comvtane]   lit.  }/  one  should  assay  a  word  with  thee. 

be  /p'ieved]  This  word  is  rendered  thou  faintest,  v.  5.  It  means  to 
be  weary ;  this  may  be  equivalent  either  to  be  impatient,  Is.  i.  14,  or  to 


vv.  3— 7-]  JOB,   IV.  29 

But  who  can  withhold  himself  from  speaking  ? 
Behold,  thou  hast  instructed  many, 
And  thou  hast  strengthened  the  weak  hands. 
Thy  words  have  upholden  him  that  was  falling, 
And  thou  hast  strengthened  the  feeble  knees. 
But  now  it  is  come  upon  thee,  and  thou  faintest; 
It  toucheth  thee,  and  thou  art  troubled. 
Is  not  this  thy  fear,  thy  confidence. 
Thy  hope;  and  the  uprightness  of  thy  ways? 
Remember,  I  pray  thee,  who   ever  perished,  being   in- 
nocent? 

be  exhausfed.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  here.  We  may  render,  leaving 
the  ambiguity,  will  it  be  too  much  for  thee  ?  Eliphaz  speaks  unwillingly, 
and  would  spare  Job,  but  he  is  compelled  by  the  frame  of  mind  in  which, 
he  sees  his  friend. 

3.  the  weak  hands]  lit.  the  hands  hanging  down,  a  sign  of  helpless- 
ness and  despondency,  1  Sam.  iv.  i ;  Is.  xiii.  7.  Comp.  Job's  words 
of  himself,  ch.  xxix.  15,  16. 

4.  the  feeble  knees]  lit.  as  margin,  the  bmving,  or  tottering,  knees j 
the  figure  being  that  of  one  tottering  under  a  heavy  load,  which  he  is 
ready  to  sink  beneath.     See  Is.  xxxv.  3,  4  ;  Heb.  xii.  12. 

5.  it  is  come  upon  thee]  Rather,  it  cometli.  It  is  the  calamity, 
which  Eliphaz  does  not  care  further  to  particularize. 

art  troubled]  Or,  art  confounded,  losest  self-possession,  as  Job  had 
indeed  described  himself  as  one  wholly  perplexed,  "whose  way  was 
hid,"  iii.  23. 

We  must  beware  of  supposing  that  there  is  any  flavour  of  sarcasm  in 
the  words  of  Eliphaz,  as  if  he  hinted  that  Job  found  it  an  easier  thing  to 
administer  comfort  to  others  than  to  take  home  the  comfort  to  himself. 
Such  a  thing  is  wholly  foreign  to  the  mood  of  Eliphaz  at  starting,  who, 
though  he  does  find  something  to  blame  in  Job's  state  of  mind,  is  per- 
fectly sincere  and  friendly.     It  is  equally  irrelevant  to  the  connexion. 

Those  whom  Job  had  consoled  are  to  be  supposed  pious  men  under 
trials.  Job,  as  a  man  of  deep  religious  experience,  was  able  to  set  before 
them  such  views  of  providence,  and  of  the  uses  of  adversity  in  God's 
hand,  and  open  up  such  prospects  to  them,  that  he  upheld  and  confirmed 
them.  The  verses  3 — 5  are  incomplete,  and  form  the  foreground  to 
w.  6,  7,  which  express  the  real  point  of  the  statement  of  Eliphaz. 

6.  Is  7tot  this  thy  fear?]     This  verse  should  read, 

Is  not  thy  fear  of  God  thy  confidence  ? 

And  thy  hope,  is  it  not  the  perfection  of  thy  ways? 
When  Job  comforted  others  he  no  doubt  would  refer  to  their  god- 
fearing life  as  a  ground  of  hope  that  God  would  give  them  a  happy  issue 
out  of  their  afflictions.     Eliphaz  desires  that  Job  should  apply  the  same 
medicine  to  himself.     He  assumes  that  Job  is  a  god-fearing  man. 


30  JOB,    T\^  [vv.  -S— IT. 

Or  where  were  the  righteous  cut  off? 

Even  as  I  have  seen,  they  that  plow  iniquity, 

And  sow  wickedness,  reap  the  same. 

By  the  blast  of  God  they  perish, 

And  by  the  breath  of  his  nostrils  are  they  consumed. 

The  roaring  of  the  lion,  and  the  voice  of  the  fierce  lion. 

And  the  teeth  of  the  young  lions,  are  broken. 

The  old  lion  pcrisheth  for  lack  of  prey. 

And  the  stout  lion's  whelps  are  scattered  abroad. 

7.  Eliphaz  would  have  Job  remember  that  the  afflictions  of  the 
righteous  are  disciplinary,  and  not  designed  for  their  destruction — who 
ever  perished  being  innocent?  He  puts  his  principle  first  negatively, 
the  righteous  do  not  perish  under  aitliction;  and  then  positively,  it  is 
the  wicked,  they  who  plough  iniquity  that  reap  it,  v.  8  sci/. 

8.  even  as  I  have  secn'\  Rather,  as  I  ]iave  seen.  The  words  might 
be  also  rendered,  when  I  saiv  those  that  ploughed  iniquity. ..they  reaped 
it.  Eliphaz  draws  a  distinction  between  two  classes  of  men,  on  both  of 
whom  afiliction  may  come — the  righteous,  who  may  no  doubt  sin  and  be 
chastised  for  their  sin,  but  who  do  not  perish  under  their  chastise- 
ments (see  ch.  v.  17  seq.),  and  the  wicked,  whose  sinning  is,  so  to  speak, 
a  business  which  they  practise  as  the  tiller  ploughs  and  sows  his  field, 
and  whose  harvest  is  unfailing.  The  words  iniquity  and  wiehedness 
may  mean  also  affliction  and  trouble.  The  two  pairs  of  things  correspond 
to  one  another.  That  which  the  wicked  plough  and  cast  into  the 
ground  may  be  iniquity  and  wickedness,  they  reap  it  in  the  form  of 
affliction  and  trouble.     For  the  figure  comp.  llos.  viii.  7;  x.  13. 

9.  by  the  blast  of  God]  Better, 

By  the  breath  of  God  they  perish, 

And  by  the  blast  of  his  anger  are  they  consumed. 

The  destructive  judgment  of  God  upon  the  wicked  is  described  as  a 
fiery  breath  coming  from  His  mouth,  as  the  hot  w'ind  of  the  desert 
withers  and  burns  up  the  grass,  cf.  Is.  xl.  7  ;  Am.  i.  2. 

10.  11.  The  sudden  destruction  of  the  wicked  is  thrown  by  Eliphaz 
into  another  graphic  figure,  the  breaking-up  and  dispersion  of  a  den  of 
lions.  There  are  five  words  used  for  lion  in  these  verses,  some  of  which  are 
epithets  taken  from  the  characteristics  of  the  lion;  they  are:  lion, 
roaring  lion  (rather  than,  fierce  lion),  young  lion,  v.  10,  and  strong  (or, 
old)  lion,  and  lioness  — the  whelps  of  the  lioness,  v.  11.  Between  the 
lion  and  the  wicked  whom  Eliphaz  describes  there  are  two  points  of 
resemblance;  first,  their  strength  or  power;  and  second,  their  inherent 
violence  of  nature.  This  is  the  kind  of  men  on  whom  afflictions 
fall  that  are  final.  The  picture  of  the  breaking-up  of  the  lion's  home  is 
very  graphic  ;  in  the  midst  of  the  strong  lion's  roaring  and  tearing  of  his 
prey  by  a  sudden  stroke  his  roaring  is  silenced  and  his  teeth  dashed  out; 
thus  disabled  he  perishes  for  lack  of  prey ;  and  the  whelps  having  no 


JOB,   IV.  31 

provider  are  scattered  abroad.     The  reality  of  the  figure  is  seen  in  the 
breaking-up  of  the  home  of  the  wicked,  ch.  v.  2 — 5. 

12. — V.  7.   Turning  to  Job's  murmurs  against  heaven,  Eliphaz 

POINTS  TO  THE  UNAPPROACHABLE  PURITY  OF  GOD  AND  THE 
IMPERFECTION  OF  ALL  CREATURES,  AND  WARNS  JOB  AGAINST 
SUCH  COMPLAINTS. 

Having  expressed  his  wonder  that  a  righteous  man  like  Job  should 
fall  into  such  utter  despair  under  afflictions,  forgetting  that  to  the 
righteous  affliction  is  but  a  discipline,  Eliphaz  seeks  to  draw  Job  back 
to  consider  what  is  the  real  cause  of  all  affliction.  This  is  the  imperfec- 
tion of  man,  an  imperfection  which  he  shares  indeed  with  all  created 
beings,  in  the  highest  of  whom  to  God's  eye  there  is  limit  and  possible 
error.  And  this  being  so,  murmuring  can  only  aggravate  his  affliction 
by  provoking  the  anger  of  God. 

The  passage  falls  into  two  divisions.  In  the  first,  w.  12 — 21,  Eliphaz 
contrasts  the  holiness  of  God  with  the  imperfection  of  all  creatures,  even 
the  pure  spirits  on  high,  and  much  more  a  material  being  like  man,  and 
thus  indirectly  suggests  to  Job  the  true  secret  of  his  troubles.  In  the 
second,  ch.  v.  i — 7,  having  laid  this  broad  foundation,  he  builds  on  it  a 
warning  to  Job  against  his  murmurs.  Only  the  wicked  resent  God's 
dealing  with  them,  and  by  doing  so  bring  increased  wrath  upon  them- 
selves till  they  perish. 

With  great  delicacy  and  consideration  Eliphaz,  instead  of  impressing 
the  imperfection  of  man  on  Job  directly,  narrates  how  this  truth  was 
once  impressed  upon  himself  by  a  voice  from  lieaven.  It  was  in  the 
dead  of  night,  when  all  around  were  in  deep  sleep.  His  mind  was 
agitated  by  perplexing  thoughts  arising  out  of  visions  of  the  night. 
Suddenly  a  great  terror  fell  upon  him.  Then  there  passed  before  his  face 
a  breath.  And  there  seemed  to  stand  before  him  a  form,  too  dim  to  dis- 
cern, from  which  came  forth  a  still  voice,  which  said.  Can  man  be 
righteous  with  God  ?  Or,  Can  a  man  be  pure  with  his  Maker?  Even 
to  the  holy  angels  He  imputeth  error,  how  much  more  to  frail  and 
earthly  man?  vv.  \i — 21. 

Applying  to  Job  this  truth,  so  impressively  taught  to  himself,  Eliphaz 
asks,  if  Job  appeals  against  God,  whether  any  of  the  holy  beings,  who 
minister  between  God  and  men,  will  listen  to  his  appeal?  (ch.  v.  i). 
Nay,  it  is  only  the  wicked  who  resent  the  afflictions  of  God,  and 
by  their  rebellious  impatience  increase  their  afflictions  till  they  are 
destroyed.  Such  an  instance  he  had  himself  seen.  He  saw  a  fool,  a 
rebellious  murmurer  against  Heaven,  spreading  forth  his  roots  and 
giving  promise  for  a  moment  of  prosperity.  liut  suddenly  destruc- 
tion came  upon  him.  His  harvest  was  seized  by  the  hungry  robber; 
the  rights  of  his  children  were  trampled  upon  ;  and  his  home  was 
broken  up  and  desolate  [vv.  2 — 5).  And  finally,  Eliphaz  condenses  into 
a  vivid  aphorism  his  teaching  in  this  section  :  for  trouble  springs  not  out 
of  the  ground — it  is  not  accidental  nor  a  spontaneous  growth  of  the  soil. 
But  man  is  born  unto  trouble — it  is  his  nature  so  to  act  that  by  his  evil 
deeds  he  brings  trouble  upon  himself.  Out  of  his  heart  rises  up  evil  as 
naturally  as  the  fire  sends  forth  sparks  {vv.  6,  7J. 


»  JOB,   IV.  [vv.  12— 16. 

Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brouglit  to  me, 

And  mine  ear  received  a  little  thereof. 

In  thoughts  from  the  visions  of  the  night, 

When  deep  sleep  falleth  on  men. 

Fear  came  upon  me,  and  trembling, 

Wliich  made  all  my  bones  to  shake. 

Then  a  spirit  passed  before  my  face; 

The  hair  of  my  flesh  stood  up : 

It  stood  still,  but  I  could  not  discern  the  form  thereof: 

An  image  was  before  mine  eyes, 

T/iere  was  silence,  and  I  heard  a  voice,  saying, 


12.  A^07v  a  thing]  Or,  and  a  word.  Eliphaz  proceeds  to  another 
point,  but  he  introduces  it  cahiily,  though  with  deepening  earnestness  in 
his  tone;  it  is  something  additional,  and  he  appends  it  by  the 
simple  and, 

a  little  thereof]  Rather,  the  wliisper  thereof.  His  ear  caught  it  all, 
but  the  whole  of  it  was  but  a  whisper. 

13.  This  revelation  which  came  to  him  secretly  or  "stealthily,"  as 
the  word  means,  was  given  in  the  dead  of  night.  He  had  had  visions  on 
his  bed,  and  perplexing,  tangled  thoughts  filled  his  heart.  God's  provi- 
dence and  ways  to  man,  no  doubt,  were  the  subject  of  his  thoughts. 

The  night  was  recognised  of  old  as  favourable  to  deeper  thought  from 
its  stillness.  Then  the  mind  was  less  distracted  and  ranged  more  freely 
in  the  regions  of  higher  truth.  And  revelations  from  heaven  often  came 
to  men  in  the  night-season  ;  cf.  Zech.  i.  8,  and  the  story  of  Natlian's 
oracle  to  David  in  regard  to  building  the  Temple,  i  Sam.  vii.  3,  4;  also 
the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "  My  reins  also  instruct  me  in  the  niglit-sea- 
sons,"  Ps.  xvi.  7. 

14.  Eliphaz  depicts  graphically  the  circumstances  in  which  he  re- 
ceived the  message  from  heaven.  In  the  dead  night,  in  the  midst  of  his 
perplexing  thoughts  upon  his  bed,  a  supernatural  terror  suddenly  seized 
him.  Then  he  was  conscious  of  a  breath  passing  before  him,  v.  15. 
Then  he  seemed  to  perceive  a  figure  in  his  presence,  too  dim,  however, 
to  be  discerned ;  and  at  last  a  whisper  of  a  voice  gave  utterance  to  the 
awful  words  that  expressed  the  relations  of  man  to  God,  v.  16.  So 
awful  were  the  impressions  of  that  night,  that  Eliphaz  in  recalling  the 
circumstances  almost  feels  himself  in  the  midst  of  them  again,  and  he 
falls  into  the  present  tense  in  describing  them  :  a  breath  passeth  before 
my  face. ..an  im?ge  is  before  mine  eyes. ..and  I  hear  a  voice,  &c. 

15.  iheti  a  spirit]  Ratlier,  a  breath.  It  was  something  which  he 
felt;  that  which  he  saw  follows  in  v.  16.  The  word  spirit  does  not 
seem  used  in  the  Old  Testament  in  the  sense  of  an  apparition. 

16.  it  stood  still]  It  is  the  mysterious  object  in  his  presence. 

there  was  silence,  and  I  heard  a  voice]  lit.  stillness  and  a  voice  I 
heard,  i.e.  probably,  I  heard  a  still  voice;  cf.  "whisper,"  v.  12. 


vv.  17— 19-]  JOB,   IV.  33 

Shall  mortal  man  be  more  just  than  God?  1 

Shall  a  man  be  more  pure  than  his  Maker? 

Behold,  he  put  no  trust  in  his  servants; 

And  his  angels  he  charged  with  folly : 

How  much  less  in  them  that  dwell  in  houses  of  clay, '         1 

Whose  foundation  is  in  the  dust. 

Which  are  crushed  before  the  moth  ? 

17.  be  vtore  just  than  God]  This  translation  is  possible.  It  is  very 
unnatural,  however ;  for  though,  if  a  man  were  found  complaining  of 
God's  ways,  the  immediate  inference  might  be  that  he  was  making  him- 
self more  righteous  (at  least  in  the  perception  of  moral  rectitude)  than 
God,  such  an  inference  does  not  seem  drawn  by  any  of  the  speakers,  the 
idea  of  a  man  being  more  righteous  than  God  being  too  absurd  to  sug- 
gest itself.  The  charge  brought  against  Job  was  that  he  made  God 
unrighteous,  not  that  he  claimed  to  be  more  righteous  than  He.  Two 
senses  seem  possible,  either, 

Can  man  be  righteous  before  God  ? 
Can  a  man  be  pure  before  his  Maker  ? 

a  sense  which  the  phrase  has  Numb,  xxxii.  22,  and  is  adopted  by  the 
Sept. ;  or,  can  man  be  in  the  right  itt  his  plea  against  God  ?  a  meaning 
which  the  phrase  has  in  the  speeches  of  Elihu,  ch.  xxxii.  2.  This  latter 
sense  is  less  suitable  to  the  second  clause  of  the  verse.  The  first  and 
more  general  sense  is  the  more  probable  because,  of  course,  the  vision 
appeared  to  Eliphaz  before  Job's  calamities  befell  him  and  had  no 
direct  reference  to  them.  This  sense  also  suits  the  scope  of  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  and  the  general  aphorism  ch.  v.  6,  7  with  which  Eliphaz 
sums  up  this  paragraph  of  his  speech,  and  is  most  in  harmony  with  the 
studiously  general  tone  of  Eliphaz's  first  discourse. 

18.  he  put  no  trust]  Better,  he  putteth. 

he  charged  with  folly]  Rather,  he  chargeth  with  error.  The 
"servants"  of  God  are  here  His  heavenly  ministers,  as  the  parallel, 
"  angels",  indicates.  The  word  "folly"  [toholah)  does  not  occur  again 
in  Heb.,  and  its  meaning  must  be  in  some  measure  conjectural. 
Dillmann  has  drawn  attention  to  an  Ethiopic  root  tahala,  to  err,  and 
the  word  may  be  connected  with  this  stem  and  mean  error. 

19.  houses  of  clay]  The  verse  refers  to  men,  and  their  "  houses  of  clay  " 
are  their  bodies,  which  are  of  the  dust,  Gen.  ii.  7 ;  iii.  19  ;  2  Cor.  v.  i. 

whose  foundation]  Men's  bodies  being  compared  to  houses  are  now 
spoken  of  as,  like  houses,  having  a  foundation.  They  are  not  only 
of  earth,  they  are  founded  on  earth — of  the  earth  earthy.  They  are 
built  of  earth,  derived  from  earth,  limited  to  earth.  The  accumulation 
of  terms  enhances  the  material  nature  of  man  in  opposition  to  the 
spirits  on  high.  Yet  even  these  spirits  are  limited,  and,  as  creatures, 
not  absolute  in  their  holiness,  and  to  God's  eye  even  erring.  No  words 
could  more  strongly  express  God's  unapproachable  holiness. 

before  the  moth]  The  words  may  mean :  sooner,  easier,  than  the  moth 

JOB  3 


34  JOB,   IV.  [vv.  20,  21. 

They  are  destroyed  from  morning  to  evening: 
They  perish  for  ever  without  a?iy  regarding  it 
Doth  not  their  excellency  which  is  in  them  go  away  ? 
They  die,  even  without  wisdom. 

is  crushed.  They  can  hardly  mean  in  the  connexion,  by  the  moth  ; 
ahhough  the  moth  is  usually  elsewhere  spoken  of  as  the  destroyer, 
ch.  xiii.  28  ;  Is.  I.  9 ;  li.  8,  and  not  as  the  object  of  destruction.  The 
phrase  before  might  have  a  sense  similar  to  what  it  has  in  ch.  iii.  24,  like 
the  moth  ;  so  the  Sept. 

20.  frotn  7iiormng  to  evctting]  i.e.  from  a  morning  to  an  evening,  in 
the  course  of  a  single  day,  cf.  Is.  xxxviii.  12.  They  are  short-lived 
as  ephemefids. 

withozU  any  regarding]  i.e.  without  any  one  noticing  it;  so  insignifi- 
cant and  of  no  account  are  they,  that  they  pass  away  unobserved,  like 
ephemeral  insects.  The  words  might  mean,  without  any  of  them  laying 
to  heart ;  they  are  thoughtless  in  their  sinful  levity,  an  idea  parallel  to 
"without  wisdom"  in  the  next  verse.  Verse  19  described  how  ffl«/y 
men  are  destroyed,  this  verse  describes  how  soon.  All  is  meant  to 
widen  the  chasm  between  men  and  God,  and  by  giving  Job  right 
thoughts  of  God,  and  of  himself  a  man,  to  bring  back  his  mind  to  a 
becoming  attitude  towards  Heaven. 

21.  their  excellency  go  away]  This  verse  is  obscure.  The  word 
rendered  go  aivay  means  to  pull  out,  as  a  pin  or  the  posts  of  a  gate, 
Judg.  xvi.  3,  14  (English  version,  went  away  with),  or  the  stake  of  a 
tent.  Is.  xxxiii.  20  (be  removed).  This  is  probably  the  original  meaning. 
Then  the  word  is  used  in  a  secondary,  more  general  sense,  to  break  up 
an  encampment,  to  remove  or  journey,  to  depart,  e.g.  very  often  in 
Numb,  xxxiii.  In  the  present  verse  the  verb  is  pass.,  and  probably 
has  its  original  sense,  plucked  up,  or  torn  out.  The  word  translated 
excellency  has  that  meaning,  e.g.  Gen.  xlix.  3  ;  Prov.  xvii.  7.  In  other 
places  the  word  means  a  cord,  Judg.  xvi.  7 — 9,  the  string  of  a  bow, 
Ps.  xi.  2  ;  and  similarly  Job  xxx.  ir.  The  fgiire  in  the  Poet's  mind 
here  is  the  pulling  down  of  a  tent,  to  which  the  death  of  man  is  com- 
pared ;  so  in  Is.  xxxviii.  12,  where  the  meaning  is,  my  habitation  is 
removed.  The  meaning  for;/ suits  this  figure  better  than  excellency,  and 
the  sense  would  be,  their  tent-cord  is  torn  away.  As  to  the  relation 
of  the  two  clauses  of  the  verse  to  one  another,  the  construction  is 
probably  the  same  as  in  ch.  iv.  2,  if  one  should  venture... wilt  thou 
be  grieved  ?    Therefore, 

If  their  tent-cord  is  torn  away  in  them. 
Do  they  not  die,  and  not  in  wisdom? 

There  is  an  emphasis  on  die ;  the  moment  the  tent  falls,  through  the 
tearing-away  of  the  cord  that  upheld  it,  the  inhabitant  wholly  perishes. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  ask  what  the  tent-cord  is.  The  cord  belongs 
to  the  figure,   and  is  scarcely  to  be  interpreted  of  the  soul. 

They  die  without  attaining  unto  wisdom.     This  trait  heightens  the 


vv.  I,  2.]  JOB,  V.  35 

Call  now,  if  there  be  a>!y  that  will  answer  thee;  5 

And  to  which  of  the  saints  wilt  thou  turn  ? 
For  wrath  killeth  the  foolish  man,  s 

And  envy  slayeth  the  silly  one. 

darkness  of  the  picture  of  man's  condition.  He  is  not  only  frail,  his 
frailty  is  but  another  side  of  his  moral  imperfection,  and  this  cleaves 
to  him  to  the  very  end. 

There  is  something  very  wise  and  considerate  as  well  as  profoundly 
reverential  in  these  words  of  the  aged  speaker.  He  does  not  touch 
Job's  murmurs  directly,  but  seeks  to  reach  them  by  suggesting  otlier 
thoughts  to  Job.  First,  he  speaks  of  the  exalted  purity  of  God,  to 
awaken  reverence  in  Job's  mind.  Then  he  descends  to  the  creatures 
and  seeks  to  look  at  them  as  they  appear  unto  God.  In  His  eyes,  so 
sublime  is  He  in  holiness,  all  creatures,  angels  and  men,  are  erring. 
Thus  Eliphaz  makes  Job  cease  to  be  an  exception,  and  renders  it  more 
easy  for  him  to  reconcile  himself  to  his  history  and  acknowledge  the 
true  cause  of  it.  He  is  but  one  where  all  are  the  same.  There  is 
nothing  strange  in  his  having  sinned  (ch.  v.  6,  7).  Neither,  therefore, 
are  his  afflictions  strange.  But  it  will  be  something  strange  if  he 
murmurs  against  God. 

Ch.  V.  1 — 7.  Having  laid  this  broad  ground,  Eliphaz  proceeds  to 
apply  the  principle  to  Job. 

1.  Call  now,  if  there  be  any\  Rather,  call  tben,  is  there  any...? 
The  imperative  call  then  is  not  ironical,  but  merely  a  very  animated  way 
of  putting  a  supposition  :  if  thou  appeal  then  against  God  is  there  any 
that  will  hear  thee  or  aid  thee? 

which  of  the  saints']  Better,  the  holy  ones,  that  is,  the  angels,  as 
ch.  XV.  15 ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  6 — 7  ;  will  any  of  these  exalted  beings  receive  thy 
complaint  against  God?  In  ch.  xxxiii.  23  the  angels  are  interpreters, 
conveying  the  meaning  of  God's  providences  to  men.  But  the  converse 
idea  that  they  convey  men's  representations  to  God  or  intercede  for 
them  with  Him  is  not  found  here,  because  the  reference  is  to  a  complaint 
against  God.  There  underlies  the  passage  the  idea  that  the  angels  are 
helpful  to  men,  and  the  question  is  asked.  If  Job  appeals  to  any  of  them 
against  God  will  they  hear  his  appeal  and  aid  him?  The  question 
is  only  a  vivid  way  of  saying  that  they  would  turn  away  from  him, 
abhorring  his  folly.  Being  holy,  they  know,  for  that  very  reason,  the 
unapproachable  holiness  and  rectitude  of  God,  and  the  distance  of  all 
creatures  from  Him. 

2-  _  Verse  i  asked,  Will  any  one  answer  thy  complaint  ?  will  com- 
plaining bring  any  deliverance  ?  This  verse  gives  the  other  side — nay, 
rather,  such  murmuring  betrays  a  mind  "most  incorrect  to  heaven," 
and  such  a  fool  will  by  his  impatience  but  bring  upon  himself  increased 
calamity  till  he  altogether  perish. 

Nay,  rather,  the  foolish  man  impatience  killeth. 
And  the  silly  one  his  passion  slayeth. 
The  meaning,  of  course,  is  not  that  the  fool  and  silly  one  vex  them- 

3—2 


36  JOB,  V.  [vv.  3, 4. 

I  have  seen  the  fooHsh  taking  root : 
But  suddenly  I  cursed  his  habitation. 
His  children  are  far  from  safety, 

And  they  are  crushed  in  the  gate,  neither  is  there  any  to 
deliver  them. 

selves  to  death,  but  that  their  rebellious  impatience  and  resentment 
of  the  chastisements  of  heaven  bring  down  upon  them  more  grievous 
chastisement,  under  which  they  perish.  There  are  several  words  for 
"fool"  in  the  Old  Testament.  Two  characteristics  of  the  fool  here 
spoken  of  are  mentioned :  he  rejects  instniction  or  correction,  Prov.  i.  7 ; 
xii.  15  ;  and  he  openly  exhibits  his  chagrin  or  angry  impatience, 
Prov.  xii.  16  {ka^as  as  here).  The  last  word  describes  impatient  bearing 
under  affliction,  or  under  that  which  offends,  such  as  an  affront.  These 
words  of  Eliphaz  hurt  Job  deeply,  and  in  the  very  first  sentence  of  his 
reply  he  alludes  to  them,  "Oh  that  my  impatience  (lianas)  were  weighed 
and  laid  in  the  balances  against  my  affliction,"  ch.  vi.  2.  The  word  in 
the  second  half  of  the  verse  means  properly  heat,  hence  any  strong 
passion,  as  jealousy,  the  wild  ardour  of  battle.  Is.  xlii.  13,  and  the  like. 
On  the  use  of  "fool"  and  similar  words  in  a  moral  sense  to  denote 
wicked,  that  is,  without  true  insight  into  the  ways  of  God  and  right 
feeling  towards  Heaven,  see  on  ch.  ii.  10. 

3.  the  foolishl  Rather  perhaps,  a  foolish  man,  the  same  word  as 
in  V.  2.  Eliphaz  cites  an  instance  from  his  own  experience  confirming 
the  truth  stated  in  v.  1.  He  saw  a  man  of  this  character  taking  root, 
and  for  the  moment  appearing  to  give  promise  of  prosperity. 

but  suddetily  I  cursed']  The  meaning  is  not  that  Eliphaz  cursed  his 
habitation  before-hand,  foreseeing  that  destruction  would  certainly  over- 
take him ;  but  that,  though  this  fool  appeared  prosperous  and  seemed 
preparing  for  enduring  happiness,  suddenly  God's  judgment  fell  on  him, 
and  Eliphaz,  seeing  his  desolation  and  knowing  the  true  meaning  of  it, 
pronounced  his  habitation  accursed;  and  this  he  did  "suddenly,"  so 
speedily  in  the  midst  of  his  apparent  luxuriance  did  the  curse  of  God 
wither  up  the  prosperity  of  the  fool. 

4,  5.  These  verses  describe  the  desolation  that  befell  the  home  and 
family  of  the  man  who  hardened  himself  against  God.  The  speaker 
falls  here  into  the  present  tenses  because,  though  he  is  describing  an 
instance  which  he  saw,  the  instance  illustrates  a  general  truth. 

4.  they  are  crushed  in  the  gate]  The  gate  of  the  town  is  the  seat  of  the 
Oriental  court  of  law,  where  justice  is  administered,  ch.  xxix.  7,  xxxi. 
21  ;  Ps.  cxxvii.  5.  The  words  a?-e  crushed  might  be  reciprocal,  "  crush 
one  another;"  more  likely  the  word  means  exactly,  "must  let  them- 
selves be  crushed,"  as  the  last  clause  indicates  :  having  none  to  deliver 
them.  In  the  East  he  has  right  who  has  power  (ch.  xxii.  8),  and  the 
poor,  who  cannot  bribe  the  judge  or  find  powerful  men  to  speak  for 
them,  go  to  the  wall. 

The  iniquity  of  the  father  is  visited  upon  the  children,  Exod.  xx.  5, 
a  law  of  providence  which  does  not  quite  meet  Job's  approval,  ch. 


vv.  5-7.]  JOB,   V.  37 

Whose  harvest  the  hungry  eateth  up,  i 

And  taketh  it  even  out  of  the  thorns, 

And  the  robber  swalloweth  up  their  substance. 

Although  affliction  cometh  not  forth  of  the  dust,  i 

Neither  doth  trouble  spring  out  of  the  ground ; 

Yet  man  is  born  unto  trouble, 

As  the  sparks  fly  upward. 

xxi.  19,  ■zo.  That  this  principle  created  difficulty  to  thoughtful  men 
about  this  time  appears  also  from  Ezek.  xviii.  19  scq. 

5.  even  out  of  the  thorns\  i.e.  from  within  the  enclosed  field,  pro- 
tected by  the  thorn-hedge.  The  roving,  hungry  Bedawin  carry  their 
thievish  depredations  up  to  the  very  homestead  and  in-fields  of  the 
ruined  estate  of  the  wicked  man. 

the  robber\  This  word  occurs  again  ch.  xviii.  9,  in  the  certain  mean- 
ing of  snare ;  and  the  sense  would  thus  be,  and  the  snare  gapes  for 
their  substance,  the  general  idea  being  that  their  substance  falls  a  prey 
to  the  greed  of  every  crafty  and  cunning  one.  This  is  rather  vague  and 
colourless.  The  ancient  versions  by  alteration  in  the  punctuation  give 
the  meaning  of  the  thirsty.  This  agrees  with  the  parallel  "  the  hungry  " 
in  the  preceding  clause,  and  therefore  naturally  suggested  itself.  While 
"  the  thirsty  "  suits  "  gapes  "  very  well,  it  is  less  suitable  to  "  substance." 
On  the  whole,  as  the  meaning  sjiare  is  assured  from  ch.  xviii.  9,  it  is 
safer  to  rest  content  with  this  sense.  The  whole  forms  a  very  graphic 
picture  of  desolation. 

6,  7.  Eliphaz  now  sums  up  into  an  aphorism  the  great  general 
principle  which  he  seeks  to  illustrate  in  this  section  of  his  speech,  ch. 
iv.  12 — V.  7.  It  is  that  affliction  is  not  accidental,  nor  a  spontaneous 
growth  of  the  earth,  but  men  acting  after  the  impulses  of  their  evil 
nature  bring  it  on  themselves. 

6.  Although  afjfliction\  Rather,  for  aflliction.  The  foregoing  ex- 
amples, the  general  evil  and  imperfection  of  man,  ch,  iv.  12  seq.,  and 
the  particular  rebelliousness  of  the  fool,  ch.  v.  2  seq.,  shew  how  affliction 

arises,  and  Eliphaz  confirms  the  whole  with  his  general  maxim, /^^r 

Eliphaz  reverts  here  to  his  principle  already  enunciated,  They  that  sow 
trouble  reap  the  same,  ch.  iv.  8.  Affliction  does  not  spring  out  of  the 
earth  like  weeds,  it  is  not  a  necessary  product  of  the  nature  of  things, 
turned  out  by  the  friction  of  the  universe,  it  is  due  to  the  evil  nature  of  men. 

7.  Yet  man  is  born  tinto  trouble']  Rather,  but  man.  The  true  ex- 
planation of  affliction  is  now  given,  as  the  false  explanation  was  denied 
in  V.  6.  The  words  "man  is  born  unto  trouble"  mean,  it  is  his  nature 
through  his  sin  to  bring  trouble  upon  himself;  evil  rises  up  out  of  his 
heart  as  naturally  as  the  sparks  fly  up  out  of  the  flame.  Cf.  the  words 
of  Christ,  "Out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,"  and  the  appalling  list 
which  follows.  Eliphaz  is  severe  on  human  nature,  but  the  broad 
generality  of  his  doctrine  is  fitted  to  enable  Job  to  find  himself  in  his 
history  and  let  himself  be  led  back  to  a  more  devout  demeanour.  See 
the  concluding  remark  to  ch.  iv. 


38  JOB,   V.  [vv.  8— lo. 

I  would  seek  unto  God, 

And  unto  God  would  I  commit  my  cause: 

Which  doeth  great  tilings  and  unsearchable; 

Marvellous  tilings  witliout  number: 

Who  givetli  rain  upon  the  earth, 

8—27.  Eliphaz,  in  Job's  place,  would  seek  unto  God,  all 
whose  ways  are  marked  by  one  purpose,  to  do  good,  and 
whose  chastisements,  therefore,  but  open  the  way  to  a 
richer  blessing. 

The  passage  attaches  itself  to  the  picture  of  man's  evil  nature  just 
given,  and  suggests  where  man  should  find  refuge  from  himself,  even  in 
God.  Eliphaz  in  Job's  place  would  seek  unto  God  for  help — God  who 
is  so  great  in  power,  and  wonderful  in  His  ways  {vv.  8,  9).  His  ways 
are  not  only  surpassingly  wonderful,  but  one  purpose  of  goodness  runs 
through  them,  for  even  the  thirsty  wilderness  where  no  man  dwells  He 
satisfies  with  rain,  and  sets  the  humble  on  high  {vv.  10,  11).  So  on 
the  other  hand  He  disappoints  the  devices  of  the  crafty  and  delivers  the 
poor  from  their  hand,  and  the  end  is  reached  towards  which  all  His 
working  tends  :  the  poor  hath  hope,  and  evil,  ashamed,  shuts  her  mouth 
{;vv.  12 — 16). 

And  under  this  general  purpose  of  universal  goodness  fall  even  the 
chastisements  of  GoJ,  and  in  this  light  happy  should  Job  consider  him- 
self in  being  afflicted,  for  God  afflicts  only  that  He  may  be  able  the 
more  richly  to  bless  {vv.  17,  18).  And,  anticipating  that  his  afflictions 
will  "yield  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness,"  Eliphaz  draws  a 
brilliant  picture  of  Job's  restoration  and  happy  future, — the  divine  pro- 
tection {vv.  18,  19),  the  plenty  and  security  {vv.  20 — 23),  the  peaceful 
homestead  {v.  24),  the  offspring  numerous  as  the  grass  {v.  25),  and  the 
ripe  and  peaceful  end  of  all  {v.  26). 

The  passage  like  the  preceding  section  has  two  divisions,  vv.  8 — 16 
describing  the  purpose  of  goodness  running  through  all  God's  ways ; 
and  vv.  17 — 26  applying  this  to  Job's  calamities  and  painting  his  restora- 
tion ;  to  which  is  added  a  concluding  verse,  in  which  Eliphaz  beseeches 
Job  to  ponder  his  words  (z'.  27). 

8.  /  would  seek  u)ito  God\  Rather,  But  I  would  seek  ;  i.  e.  in 
humility,  and  for  help  and  light. 

9.  This  description  of  God  as  great  in  power  and  wonderful  in 
working  supports  the  implied  exhortation  in  v,  8.  Eliphaz  in  Job's 
place  would  commit  his  cause,  or  exactly  as  we  say  colloquially,  his  case, 
unto  God,  for  He,  being  great  and  wonderful  in  His  ways,  is  capable  of 
dealing  with  it,  perplexed  and  mysterious  though  it  be.  A  touch  of 
humanity  seems  here  almost  to  get  the  better  of  the  moral  and  religious 
severity  of  Eliphaz. 

10.  upon  the  eartK\  lit.  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  and  so  next 
clause,  upon  the  face  of  the  fields.  He  watereth  the  earth  when  it  is 
thirsty,  with  a  universal  goodness. 


vv.  10—15.]  JOB,  V.  39 

And  sendeth  waters  upon  the  fields: 

To  set  up  on  high  those  that  be  low; 

That  those  which  mourn  may  be  exalted  to  safety. 

He  disappointeth  the  devices  of  the  crafty, 

So  that  their  hands  cannot  perform  their  enterprise. 

He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  craftiness: 

And  the  counsel  of  the  froward  is  carried  headlong. 

They  meet  with  darkness  in  the  daytime, 

And  grope  in  the  noonday  as  in  the  night. 

But  he  saveth  the  poor  from  the  sword, 

From  their  mouth,  and  from  the  hand  of  the  mighty. 

11.  to  set  up\  If  this  construction  be  adopted,  the  watering  of  the 
earth,  v.  10,  must  be  regarded  as  the  means  to  this  which  is  effected  in 
V.  II.  He  watereth  the  fields,  giving  abundant  pasture  and  harvest, 
that  the  humble  may  be  set  on  high.  God's  operations  in  the  lower 
creation,  though  instances  of  goodness  to  it,  have  the  wider  end  of 
blessing  man  in  view.  The  words,  however,  may  mean,  setting  tip, 
and  be  another  operation  of  benevolence  parallel  to  that  in  v.  10.  This 
view  is  rather  confirmed  by  the  second  clause  of  the  verse. 

that  those  which  mourn  may  bc\     Or,  and  those  which  mourn  are. 

12 — 16.  Verses  10,  11  describe  how  the  stream  of  God's  goodness 
acts  when  it  moves  directly,  bearing  up  upon  it  the  humble  and  those 
that  mourn  towards  safety  or  salvation.  These  verses  describe  how  the 
stream  moves  when  it  meets  with  obstacles,  such  as  craft  and  evil. 

he  disappointeth']  The  same  word  is  rendered,  hefrustrateth.  Is.  xliv.  25. 

their  enterprise^  A  difficult  word  to  translate.  It  is  a  technical  term 
of  the  Hebrew  Wisdom  or  Philosophy,  and,  except  in  Is.  xxviii.  29, 
Mic.  vi.  9,  occurs  only  in  Job  and  Proverbs.  It  seems  to  mean  that 
which  is  essential.  Hence  it  is  said  of  a  state  or  action  when  it  cor- 
responds to  the  idea ;  and  conversely  of  thought  when  it  corresponds  to 
the  reality,  as  ch.  xi.  6,  xii.  16.  It  is  used  here  in  the  former  sense  (cf, 
ch.  vi.  13),  and  the  words  mean,  their  hands  perform  nothing  effectual 
(Sept.  true),  or  nothing  to  purpose. 

13.  in  their  o-Mn  craftiness']  Quoted  by  St  Paul,  i  Cor.  iii.  19.  This 
is  the  only  quotation  from  the  Book  of  Job  in  the  New  Testament, 
though  Rom.  xi.  35  seems  a  reminiscence  of  Job  xli.  11.  Phil.  i.  19 
contains  language  similar  to  ch.  xiii.  16. 

carried  headlong]  lit.  hastened,  i.e.  precipitated  before  it  be  ripe,  and 
so  frustrated. 

14.  A  picture  of  the  perplexity  and  bewilderment  of  those  crafty 
men  whose  counsels  God  has  come  athwart,  v.  13. 

15.  btU  He  saveth]  Rather,  so  He  saveth.  The  salvation  of  the  poor 
is  the  consequence  of  defeating  the  devices  of  the  crafty,  as  it  is  the 
object  in  view. 

from  the  sword,  from  their  mouth]  It  is  evident  that  this  verse 
wants  the  usual  balance  of  clauses,  and  probably  there  is  some  cor- 


40  JOB,   V.  [vv.  16—23. 

So  the  poor  hath  hope, 

And  iniquity  stoppeth  her  mouth. 

Behold,  happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth : 

Therefore  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Al- 
mighty: 
;      For  he  maketh  sore,  and  bindeth  up : 

He  woundeth,  and  his  hands  make  whole. 
I      He  shall  deliver  thee  in  six  troubles: 

Yea,  in  seven  there  shall  no  evil  touch  thee. 
)      In  famine  he  shall  redeem  thee  from  death: 

And  in  war  from  the  power  of  the  sword. 
I      Thou  shalt  be  hid  from  the  scourge  of  the  tongue : 

Neither   shalt   thou    be   afraid   of   destruction   when   it 
Cometh. 
!      At  destruction  and  famine  thou  shalt  laugh : 

Neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  the  beasts  of  the  earth. 
!      For  thou  shalt  be  in  league  with  the  stones  of  the  field : 

ruption  in  it.  Some  Mss  ova'ii  from  before  mouth,  "from  the  sword  of 
their  mouth."  The  omission  wants  support,  but  the  sense  is  probably 
that  of  the  words  as  they  stand  :  from  the  sword  (which  cometh)  from 
their  mouth ;  or  the  two  expressions  may  be  in  apposition :  f/-o/n  the 
sword  even  from  their  tnouth.  Others  have  proposed  to  point  the  word 
from-the-sivord  differently,  making  it  to  mean  tite  desolate.  This  restores 
balance  to  the  verse  :  thus  lie  saveth  the  desolate  from  their  mouth,  and 
the  poor  from  the  hand  of  the  mighty.  The  word  "desolate"  occurs 
Ezek.  xxix.  12,  said  of  cities,  and  the  verb  is  often  applied  to  lands, 
mountains,  &c.,  but  does  not  seem  used  of  persons. 

16.  The  end  contemplated  and  reached  by  the  all-embracing  sweep 
of  God's  benevolent  purpose  and  providence. 

17 — 27.  The  imagination  of  Eliphaz  himself  kindles  as  he  con- 
templates the  universal  goodness  of  God.  And  Job  seems  to  him  happy 
in  being  made  the  object  even  of  God's  afilictions,  for  He  afflicts  only 
with  the  purpose  of  more  abundantly  blessing. 

17.  The  idea  of  this  verse  occurs  often  in  Scripture,  cf.  Ps.  xciv.  12, 
Prov.  iii.  11,  Heb.  xii.  5. 

18.  maketh  sore  and  bindeth  up\  Maketh  sore  in  order  to  bind  up, 
smiteth  in  order  more  perfectly  to  heal.  If  this  physician  induce  dis- 
ease, it  is  in  order  to  procure  a  soumler  health. 

19.  "Six"  and  "seven"  are  round  numbers  meaning  "many"  or 
"all,"  like  "three"  and  "four"  and  other  numbers,  elsewhere,  cf. 
Prov.  vi.  16;  see  Am.  i.  3  seq.,  Mic.  v.  5.  Eliphaz  assumes  that  God's 
afflictions  will  have  their  due  effect  on  Job,  he  will  turn  unto  the  Lord, 
whose  hands  will  "make  him  whole,"  and  the  care  and  protection 
specilied  in  this  and  the  following  verses  shall  mark  his  restored  liie. 


vv.  23—27.]  JOB,  V.  41 

And  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  at  peace  with  thee. 
And  thou  shalt  know  that  thy  tabernacle  shall  be  in  peace;  24 
And  thou  shalt  visit  thy  habitation,  and  shalt  not  sin. 
Thou  shalt  know  also  that  thy  seed  shall  be  great,  25 

And  thine  offspring  as  the  grass  of  the  earth. 
Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age,  25 

Like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season. 

23.  'When  man  is  at  peace  with  God  he  is  at  peace  with  all  God's 
creation,  he  has  a  league  with  all  nature  and  every  creature:  "We 
know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God," 
Rom.  viii.  28. 

24.  Verses  19 — 23  describe  the  immunity  which  Job  himself,  re- 
stored to  peace  with  God,  would  enjoy  from  every  evil,  the  evils 
specified  being  those  which  God  in  His  judgments  brings  upon  men  or  a 
people,  of.  Ezek.  v.  17,  xiv.  21  ;  this  verse  describes  the  safety  and 
peace  of  his  homestead,  or  rather  the  perfect  confidence  which  he 
would  feel  in  regard  to  his  possessions, — thou  shalt  know  that  thy  tent  is 
in  safety. 

tabernacle  shall  be  in  peace"]  Or,  tent  (i.e.  dwelling)  is  in  peace. 

visit  thy  habitation]  Or,  perhaps,  muster,  look  over,  thy  homestead  ; 
the  reference  is  to  his  cattle  and  possessions. 

shalt  not  sin]  lit.  shalt  not  miss  or  fail ;  that  is,  probably,  he  shall 
find  that  his  actual  possessions  correspond  to  what  he  expected.  The 
general  meaning  is,  thou  shalt  miss  nothing. 

25.  Another  much-desired  joy  he  shall  feel  that  God  has  given  him, 
a  numerous  offspring. 

26.  And  finally  he  shall  receive  the  crowning  blessing  of  man  on 
earth,  to  live  long  and  die  old  and  full  of  years;  cf.  Ps.  cii.  24;  Is. 
xxxviii.  10;  Numb,  xxiii.  10.  The  Speaker's  Comm.  quotes  the  follow- 
ing from  Milton, 

So  mayest  thou  live,  till,  like  ripe  fruits,  thou  drop 
Into  thy  mother's  lap ;  or  be  with  ease 
Gathered,  not  harshly  plucked;  for  death  mature. 

The  speech  of  Eliphaz  is  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  the  Book.  The 
surprising  literary  skill  of  the  Author  is  hardly  anywhere  so  conspicuous. 
(See  remark  at  the  end  of  ch.  iv.) 

Nevertheless,  if  we  follow  the  clue  which  the  Author  himself  puts  into 
our  hand  in  the  reply  which  he  causes  Job  to  make,  we  must  infer 
that  Eliphaz  erred  in  two  particulars.  If  his  religious  tone  was  not  too 
lofty,  it  was  at  least  too  cold,  and  too  little  tempered  with  compassion 
for  the  sufferings  of  men.  The  moral  impropriety  of  Job's  murmurs 
and  despair  so  engrosses  his  mind  that  he  forgets  the  unbearable  misery 
of  the  sufferer  before  him,  and  the  just  claims  of  sentient  life  not  to  be 
put  to  the  torture.  The  consequence  is  that  he  will  have  to  hear  from 
Job  language  still  more  shocking  to  his  religious  feeling  (ch.  vii.  xi  scq.). 
This  error  was  due  to  another,  his  theory  of  suffering  (see  prelimi- 


42  JOB,   V.  [v.  27. 

Lo  this,  we  have  searched  it,  so  it  is  ; 
Hear  it,  and  know  thou  /'/  for  thy  good. 

nary  remarks  to  ch.  iv. — xiv.).  This  theory  gave  a  full  explanation 
to  his  mind  of  Job's  afflictions  and  compelled  him  to  take  the  tone 
towards  him  which  he  did.  However  true  his  theory  might  be  as  a 
general  principle  of  moral  government,  it  was  not  universal  and  did  not 
include  Job's  case.  Job's  conscience  told  him  this.  Hence  the  ad- 
monitions of  Eliphaz  fell  wide  of  the  mark,  and  he  only  aggravated  the 
evil  which  he  sought  to  heal. 

Ch.  VI. — Vn.    Job's  reply  to  Eliphaz. 

Job's  reply  to  the  first  of  his  three  friends  falls  into  i/u-ee  great 
sections : — 

First,  vi.  i — 13.  He  defends  against  the  remonstrances  of  Eliphaz 
the  bitterness  of  his  complaining  and  his  despair. 

Second,  vi.  14 — 30.  He  laments  with  sorrowful  disappointment  the 
attitude  his  friends  have  taken  up  towards  him. 

Third,  ch.  vii.  He  falls  anew  into  a  bitter  lamentation  over  his 
sorrowful  destiny,  and  appeals  against  God's  treatment  of  him  in 
language  much  more  direct  and  keen  than  that  used  in  ch.  iii. 

Ch.  VI.  I — 13.    Job  defends  the  violence  of  his  complaints 

AND  his   despair. 

Eliphaz  had  made  no  reference  directly  to  sin  on  Job's  part ;  but  he 
drew  dark  pictures  of  the  evilness  of  human  nature  before  the  eye  of 
his  friend,  and  for  his  advantage.  Job  shews  a  dislike  to  touch  this 
point.  His  dislike  is  that  of  a  man  conscious  of  his  innocence,  and  who 
can  hardly  believe  that  his  friends  seriously  mean  what  their  indirect 
allusions  seem  to  imply.  Hence  he  attaches  his  reply  to  what  Eliphaz 
had  openly  expressed,  namely,  his  wonder  at  the  despair  of  Job  and  his 
blameable  impatience.  The  idea  of  his  having  sinned  he  touches  only 
in  passing  and  with  strong  repudiation  of  it  (cli.  vi.  28 — 30). 

Eliphaz  had  used  the  word  "  confounded  "  of  Job's  hopeless  despair 
(ch.  iv.  5);  he  had  spoken  of  "impatience,"  and  "passion"  ;  and  had 
referred  to  the  "  fool  "  or  godless  man,  as  shewing  this  kind  of  temper 
under  affliction  (v.  2).  All  this  wounds  Job  deeply,  and  he  first  of 
all  replies  to  it,  justifying  the  bitterness  of  his  complaints  by  the  over- 
whelming heaviness  of  his  sorrow. 

First,  he  wishes  that  his  impatience  and  his  calamity  were  laid  against 
one  another  in  the  balance.  His  calamity  is  heavier  than  the  sand 
of  the  sea.  For  that  which  gives  it  its  terror  is  that  it  is  from  God. 
Tiic  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  in  him,  and  his  spirit  drinks  in  their 
poison  and  is  paralysed,  vv.  i — 4. 

Second,  a  more  kindly  judgment,  he  thinks,  would  have  reasoned  the 
other  way  from  his  friends,  namely,  from  the  violence  of  his  complaints 
to  the  greatness  of  his  sufferings.  So  men  reasoned  with  regard  to 
beasts  even.     No  creature  complained  if  it  had  no  want  or  no  pain ; 


vv.  1-4.]  JOB,  VI. 43 

But  Job  answered  and  said,  1 

Oh  that  my  grief  were  throughly  weighed, 
And  my  calamity  laid  in  the  balances  together ! 
For  now  it  would  be  heavier  than  the  sand  of  the  sea: 
Therefore  my  words  are  swallowed  up. 
For  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  within  me. 
The  poison  whereof  drinketh  up  my  spirit: 
The  terrors  of  God  do  set  themselves  in  array  agamst  me. 

neither  would  he  complain  if  what  was  unbearable  were  not  thrust  upon 
him,  vv.  5 — 7. 

Third,  so  far  he  goes  in  his  defence.  But  so  keenly  does  he  realize 
as  he  describes  it  (vv.  6,  7)  the  misery  and  loathsomeness  of  his  state 
that  here  he  breaks  out  into  a  passionate  cry  for  death,  his  mind  passes 
into  a  momentary  frenzy,  and  he  says  he  would  leap  for  joy  in  the 
midst  of  unsparing  pain,  if  it  brought  death  with  it.  This  is  the 
consolation  that  he  seeks.  And  this  consolation  he  can  look  for,  for 
he  has  never  denied  the  words  of  the  Holy  One.  And  no  other  can  he 
look  to,  for  his  flesh  is  not  brass  that  it  should  resist  his  exhausting 
afflictions;  and  what  issue  has  he  to  expect  that  he  should  be  patient? 
Z'v.  8 — 13. 

2.  my  grief\  Rather,  my  impatience  (ch.  iv.  i).  The  word  ex- 
presses the  whole  demeanour  which  in  ch.  iii.,  and  to  the  eyes  of  his 
friends,  he  shews  under  his  trouble.  He  desires  that  it  were  weighed 
and  also  his  calamity.  Naturally  he  wishes  them  weighed  against  one 
another.  It  is  not  certain  that  this  is  expressed  in  the  word  together ; 
that  word  may  mean,  and  my  whole  calamity  laid  in  the  balances. 

3.  the  sand  of  the  sea\  A  frequent  figure  for  that  which  is  infinite 
in  weight,  Prov.  xxvii.  3,  or  number,  Gen.  xxxii.  12,  or  measure,  Jer. 
xxxiii.  22. 

are  s7vallowed  up]  Rather,  have  been  Tvild,  or  perhaps  vaht  or  idle. 
Probably  the  word  is  allied  to  an  Arabic  root  that  signifies  to  speak, 
and  also,  to  speak  wrongly  and  foolishly.  Job  with  transparent 
simplicity  concedes  a  certain  extravagance  in  his  language,  although 
he  excuses  it  {v.  4  seq.).  Elsewhere  he  says  in  reference  to  himself  that 
the  words  of  one  that  is  desperate  go  into  the  wind  (v.  26). 

4.  the  arrotvs  of  the  Almighty]  This  explains  his  bearing  and  excuses 
it.  Everywhere  Job  says  that  it  is  not  his  afflictions  in  themselves  that 
terrify  him,  it  is  that  they  come  from  God  ;  it  is  the  moral  problem  that 
lies  under  his  calamities  and  that  God  has  become  his  enemy  that  makes 
his  heart  "soft"  (ch.  xxiii.  15  seq.).  The  "arrows"  of  God  are  the 
plagues,  diseases  and  pains  with  which  He  assails  men,  ch,  xvi,  12  seq.\ 
of.  Ps.  xxxviii,  2  seq.;  Deut.  xxxii.  23.     So  Hamlet, 

The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune. 

the  poison  whereof  drinketh]  Rather,  tlie  poison  of  whicli  my  spirit 
drinketii  in.  God's  arrows  are  poisoned  arrows,  llie  poison  of  which 
the  spirit  sucks  in  and  becomes  enervated  and  paralysed.     This  is  the 


44  JOB,  VI.  [vv.  5— lo. 

Doth  the  wild  ass  bray  when  he  hath  grass  ? 

Or  loweth  the  ox  over  his  fodder  ? 

Can  that  which  is  unsavoury  be  eaten  without  salt  ? 

Or  is  there  any  taste  in  the  white  of  an  egg  ? 

The  things  t/iat  my  soul  refused  to  touch 

Are  as  my  sorrowful  meat. 
;      O  that  I  might  have  my  request; 

And  that  God  would  grant  me  the  thing  that  I  long  for  1 
,      Even  that  it  would  please  God  to  destroy  me : 

That  he  would  let  loose  his  hand,  and  cut  me  off! 
>      Then  should  I  yet  have  comfort; 

Yea,  I  would  harden  myself  in  sorrow;  let  him  not  spare: 

For  I  have  not  concealed  the  words  of  the  Holy  One. 

idea,  rather  than  maddened.  The  figure  in  the  end  of  the  verse  is  that 
of  a  beleaguering  army  ;  this  host  is  composed  of  "  terrors"  from  God. 
The  reference  is  again  not  to  Job's  mere  physical  pains,  but  to  the 
perplexing  thoughts  and  fears  which  they  occasioned. 

5,  6.  Job's  complaints  are  proof  of  his  pain,  for  does  any  creature 
complain  when  it  has  what  its  nature  desires?  The  "braying"  and 
"  lowing  "  here  are  those  expressing  discontent  or  want. 

be  eaten  ivithout  sali\  Rather,  can  that  be  eaten  wMch  is  unsavoury 
and  saltless  ? 

the  -white  of  an  egg\  This  is  the  traditional  interpretation  and  is  perhaps 
the  most  probable.  Others  think  of  some  insipid  herb,  and  render : 
the  slime  (broth)  of  purslain.  The  reference  in  the  passage  is  to  Job's 
afflictions,  which  he  compares  here  to  an  insipid,  and  in  next  verse  to  a 
loathsome,  food,  cf.  ch.  iii.  24.  Others  have  thought  that  the  reference 
was  to  the  insipid  harangues  of  the  friends.  But  such  a  reference 
entirely  breaks  the  connexion. 

7.  This  verse  may  be  rendered  not  quite  literally, 

My  soul  refuseth  to  touch  them  ! 

Such  things  are  like  loathsome  food  to  me. 
Literally,  like  viy  corrupted,  or,  diseased  food.     Job  does  not  name  his 
afllictions  but  refers  to  them  indirectly  as  "they"  and  "such  things." 
He  compared  his  sufferings  to  food  in  ch.  iii.  24. 

8,  9.  So  keenly  does  Job  realize  the  loathsomeness  of  his  sufferings 
that  he  forgets  his  defence  and  breaks  out  into  a  passionate  cry  for 
death,  which  he  calls  the  thing  that  he  longs  for. 

10.     This  verse  reads, 

And  I  should  yet  have  my  comfort. 

And  I  would  leap  (for  joy)  amidst  unsparing  pain ; 

For  I  have  not  denied  the  words  of  the  Holy  One. 

His  comfort  or  consolation  that  he  would  have  is  death,  the  only 
one  he  seeks  or  can  receive  {v.  11).     The  second  clause  betrays  a  rising 


vv.  II— 13.]  JOB,  VI.  45 

What  is  my  strength,  that  I  should  hope  ? 

And  what  is  mine  end,  that  I  should  prolong  my  life? 

Js  my  strength  the  strength  of  stones? 

Or  is  my  flesh  of  brass  ? 

Is  not  my  help  in  me  ? 

And  is  wisdom  driven  quite  from  me  ? 

frenzy  in  the  sufferer's  mind.  The  third  clause  is  thrown  in  almost  in 
parenthesis.  It  expresses  Job's  feeling  that  there  is  nothing  that  would 
impair  his  comfori.  or  mar  his  joy  in  death,  for  he  has  never  denied  or 
disobeyed  the  words,  or  commands,  of  the  Holy  One.  Perhaps  the 
words  may  be  flung  out  also  against  a  thought  which  Job  felt  might  rise 
in  the  minds  of  his  friends.  They  serve  at  least  to  give  an  emphatic 
contradiction  to  their  suspicions,  by  shewing  how  fearlessly  he  looks  at 
death. 

Others  render  the  verse  somewhat  differently:  and  it  should  still  be 
my  consolation... that  I  have  not  denied,  etc.,  making  his  consolation  in 
death  to  consist  in  the  thought  that  he  had  never  disobeyed  the  words 
of  the  Holy  One,  cf  ch.  xiii.  16;  xxvii.  8  seq.  But  this  gives  a  pro- 
minence to  the  innocence  of  Job  which  is  not  suitable  in  this  place,  and 
makes  his  words  too  reflective  and  selfpossessed  for  the  rest  of  the 
passage. 

11 — 13.  With  more  calmness  Job  proceeds  to  describe  his  hopeless 
condition,  carrying  out  in  this  indirect  way  his  defence  of  his  despair. 

11.  This  verse  should  read. 

What  is  my  strength  that  I  should  wait? 

And  what  is  mine  end  that  I  should  be  patient? 
His  impatient   cry  for   death   and  his  despair  are  justified  by  his 
condition.     "Mine  end" — i.e.  what  can  the  end  of  my  afflictions  be 
but  death  ?     Why  then  should  I  wait  ? 

12.  Unless  his  strength  were  that  of  stones  or  his  flesh  brass  he  could 
not  hold  out  against  the  exhausting  afflictions  which  he  has  to  bear,  or 
recover  from  them. 

13.  This  verse  reads  something  as  follows, 

Is  not  my  help  within  me  gone, 
And  recovery  driven  away  from  me? 
Both  clauses  seem  to  refer  to  the  exhaustion  caused  by  his  disease. 
He  feels  that  all  resource  within  himself  and  all  possibility  of  recovery 
is  gone.  The  word  "recovery"  is  that  used  in  ch.  v.  12,  "anything 
effectual "  (see  notes),  and  probably  signifies  substance,  or  powers  of 
recovery.  The  word  might  also  be  applied,  as  in  ch.  xi.  6,  to  a  condition 
of  the  mind  and  signify  mental  resource,  but  this  sense  does  not  seem  to 
suit  the  connexion. 

14 — 30.     Job's    sorrowful    disappointment  at   the    position 
taken  up  towards  him  by  his  three  friends. 

Job  had  freely  expressed  his  misery  in  ch.  iii.,  believing  that  the 
sympathies  of  his  friends  were  entirely  with  him.     He  is 


46  JOB,   VI.  [v.  14. 

(      To  him  that  is  afflicted  pity  should  be  shaved  from  his 
friend ; 
But  he  forsaketh  the  fear  of  the  Ahnighty. 

a  brother  noble, 
Whose  nature  is  so  far  from  douig  harms 
That  he  suspects  none.  Lear,  i.  2. 

And  more  sorrowful  to  him  than  any  cold,  critical  words  wliich  they 
have  uttered  is  the  feeling  tliat  his  friends  have  taken  up  such  a  position 
against  him.  Tliis  was  what  he  had  not  looked  for.  And  his  dis- 
appointment is  like  that  of  the  thirsty  caravan  that  finds  the  long- 
looked-for  waters  dried  up  in  the  heat.  Every  emotion  seems  now  to 
find  a  place  in  Job's  mind  in  succession.  First,  his  disappointment,  ex- 
pressed in  this  beautiful  figure,  is  mixed  with  the  feeling  how  unworthy 
his  friends'  conduct  was.  They  had  not  acted  to  him  as  men  do  to  one 
who  is,  as  he  describes  himself,  "despairing"  and  "losing  hold  of  the 
fear  of  the  Almighty."  Kindness  is  due  to  such  a  one,  but  they  had 
turned  against  him  from  sheer  feebleness  of  spirit,  because  they  saw 
that  his  calamity  was  from  God,  vv.  14 — 11. 

Second,  this  mixed  sadness  and  contempt  passes  into  sarcasm  when 
he  tells  them  that  he  could  have  understood  their  fear  if  he  had  asked 
anything  from  them — even  one's  friends  must  not  be  put  under  that 
strain — but  he  sought  only  sympathy,  w.  22,  23. 

Third,  this  sarcasm  then  gives  place  to  a  direct  appeal  of  great 
severity,  in  which  he  demands  that  they  should  shew  him  the  sins  at 
which  they  had  indirectly  hinted,  and  wonders  at  their  superficial  cap- 
tiousness  in  fastening  on  the  mere  excited  words  of  a  man  in  despair; 
adding  in  terms  of  bitter  invective  that  their  disposition  was  so  hard 
that  they  would  cast  lots  for  the  orphan  and  make  market  of  their  own 
friend,  vv.  24 — 27. 

Finally,  he  challenges  them  to  seek  the  explanation  of  his  afflictions 
on  other  principles  than  the  supposition  of  his  guiltiness,  asking  them 
whether,  in  asserting  his  innocence,  he  would  lie  in  their  faces,  and  if 
he  was  not  able  to  say  whether  his  calamities  were  deserved  or  not? 
w.  28 — 30. 

14.     The  most  probable  sense  of  the  verse  is  this  : — 

Kindness  from  his  friend  is  due  to  him  that  is  despairing, 
To  him  that  is  forsaking  the  fear  of  the  Almighty. 

The  sense  of  the  second  clause  proposed  by  some,  else  he  will  forsake  ike 
fear,  is  good  in  itself,  but  the  language  hardly  admits  it.  The  word 
"kindness"  has  the  sense  oi  reproach,  Prov.  xiv.  34  (the  verb,  Prov.  xxv» 
10,  put  to  shame),  and  some  adopt  this  sense  here:  if  reproach  from 
his  friend  fall  upon  hifii  that  is  despairing,  he  will  forsake  the  fear,  &c. 
The  word,  however,  is  not  used  elsewhere  in  the  Book  of  Job  in  this 
sense,  and  the  interpretation  destroys  the  strong  antithesis  between  this 
verse  and  the  opening  words  of  the  next,  iny  brethi-en,  &c. 


vv.  15—21.]  JOB,  VI.  47 

My  brethren  have  dealt  deceitfully  as  a  brook,  1 

A7id  as  the  stream  of  brooks  they  pass  away; 

AVhich  are  blackish  by  reason  of  the  ice,  > 

Afid  wherein  the  snow  is  hid : 

What  time  they  wax  warm,  they  vanish:  1 

When  it  is  hot,  they  are  consumed  out  of  their  place. 

The  paths  of  their  way  are  turned  aside;  ' 

They  go  to  nothing,  and  perish. 

The  troops  of  Tema  looked,  i 

The  companies  of  Sheba  waited  for  them. 

They  were  confounded  because  they  had  hoped;  = 

They  came  thither,  and  were  ashamed. 

For  now  ye  are  nothing;  = 

15.  they  pass  azt'ay]  Better,  that  pass  away,  cf.  ch.  xi.  16.  The 
other  sense,  that  overflmu  (their  banks),  is  improbable. 

16.  are  blackish'\  Rather,  are  black,  that  is,  turbid. 
is  hid'\  lit.  hides  itself,  that  is,  dissolves. 

Pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread, 
You  seize  the  flower,  its  bloom  is  shed ; 
Or  like  the  snow-falls  in  the  river — 
A  moment  white,  then  melts  for  ever. 

18.  they  go  to  nothing\  Rather,  they  go  up  into  the  waste.  The 
expression  go  tip  in  Heb.  is  used  when  no  ascent  in  the  strict  sense  is 
meant ;  it  signifies  to  go  inland,  into  the  interior  of  a  region.  The 
streams  of  these  brooks  flow  out  and  wind  into  the  desert  and  are  con- 
sumed by  the  heat  or  lost  in  the  sand.  A  somewhat  different  sense  is 
drawn  from  the  words  by  many  writers.  The  word /«//«,  v.  18,  is  the  same 
as  troops  or  caravans,  v.  19,  and  they  assume  that  the  reference  to  the 
caravans  is  already  made  in  v.  iS,  rendering  :  the  caravans  that  go  by 
the  -way  of  them  (the  streams)  turn  aside,  they  go  jip  into  the  desert  and 
perish.  In  favour  of  this  interpretation  it  is  urged  that  there  is  some- 
thing unnatural  in  the  use  of  the  same  word  in  different  senses  in  two 
consecutive  verses ;  and  that  it  is  customary  in  the  Poets  to  express  a 
general  idea  first  {v.  18)  and  then  to  particularize  and  exemplify  it 
{v.  19).  On  the  other  hand  Ibn  Ezra  has  already  remarked  that  it  is 
not  usual  for  caravans  to  leave  the  route  and  "turn  aside"  in  search  of 
water,  a  route  is  selected  and  formed  rather  because  water  is  found  on 
it.  The  danger  of  the  caravan  is  that  it  be  exhausted  before  it  reach 
the  place  where  water  is  known  to  be,  or,  as  here,  that  the  water  may 
be  found  dried  up. 

19.  Tema  lies  in  the  northern  highlands  of  Arabia,  towards  the  Syrian 
desert,  Is.  xxi.  14  ;  Jer.  xxy.  23.     On  Sheba  see  i.  15. 

21.  ye  are  nothing']  Or,  are  become  ttothing.  Job  applies  his  com- 
parison. Another  reading  is  :  ye  are  become  it,  i.  e.  the  deceitful,  dis- 
appointing brook.     The  general  sense  remains  the  same. 


48  JOB,   VI.  [vv.  22—25. 

Ye  see  7fiy  casting  down,  and  are  afraid. 

2  Did  I  say,  Bring  unto  me  ? 

Or,  Give  a  reward  for  me  of  your  substance  ? 

3  Or,  Deliver  me  from  the  enemy's  hand  ? 

Or,  Redeem  me  from  the  hand  of  the  mighty  ? 
»      Teach  me,  and  I  will  hold  my  tongue: 

And  cause  me  to  understand  wherein  I  have  erred. 
5      How  forcible  are  right  words  ! 

But  what  doth  your  arguing  reprove  ? 

my  casting  downl  lit.  ye  see  a  terror.  Job's  comparison  of  his  friends 
to  the  brook  is  graphic  and  telling.  In  winter  these  brooks  are  full, 
but  in  summer  when  the  thirsty  caravan  needs  them  and  looks  for  them 
they  are  found  to  have  disappeared  before  the  heat.  And  Job's  friends 
may  have  been  effusive  in  their  offers  of  friendship  when  friendships 
were  abundant,  but  now  when  he  needs  their  aid,  the  sight  of  his 
terrible  affliction,  like  the  summer  heat,  dissipates  their  sympathy  and 
makes  them  "nothing,"  without  power  to  help.  In  the  words  "ye  see 
a  terror  and  are  afraid  "  Job  insinuates  more  than  that  his  friends  are 
paralysed  at  the  sight  of  his  calamity,  he  means  probably  that,  judging 
his  calamity  to  be  from  God,  they  have  not  courage  to  shew  him  sym- 
pathy, cf.  xiii.  7  seq. 

22,  23.  He  had  not  asked  anything  very  great  from  his  friends,  which 
would  have  been  too  severe  a  strain  on  their  friendship,  only  sympathy, 
and  straightforward  dealing,  and  that  they  should  consider  him  the 
truthful  man  whom  they  knew  him  to  be. 

22.  a  reioard]  Rather,  a  gift. 

23.  /latid  of  the  ini\^ht)'\  that  is,  the  powerful  robber,  who  held  his 
captives  to  ransom. 

24 — 27.  In  answer  to  their  covert  insinuations  Job  demands  that 
they  should  bring  home  to  him  the  sins  of  which  they  suspected  him. 

25.  hozv  forcible  are  right  ivords\  Or,  words  of  uprightness,  that  is 
honest,  straightforward,  close  dealing  with  a  man  about  himself,  or  his 
offences,  sign  of  true  friendship,  Ps.  cl.xi.  5  ;  cf  ch.  xxxiii.  3,  where 
Elihu  claims  to  speak  out  of  this  rectitude  of  mind.  The  word  rendered 
forcible  is  of  rather  uncertain  meaning.  It  occurs  again  i  K.  ii.  8,  a 
grievous  curse,  Mic.  ii.  10,  ^  sore  destruction,  and  in  Job  xvi.  3,  what 
emboldetieth  thee  that  thou  answercst?  The  fundamental  sense  of  the 
word  is  assumed  to  be  to  be  sharp,  hence,  to  be  strong,  vehement.  This 
is  conjectural.  What  may  be  but  another  form  of  the  word  occurs  in 
Ps.  cxix.  103,  hoio  sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my  taste  !  And  many 
prefer  that  meaning  here  :  hoiv  szuect  are  words  of  uprightness. 

your  arguing  rcprove\  lit.  'ivhat  doth  reproving  from  you,  the  kind 
of  reproving  that  comes  from  you,  insinuations  and  captious  laying  hold 
of  more  excited  language,  reprove?  In  v.  24  Job  demanded  to  know 
from  his  friends  directly  what  sins  they  laid  to  his  charge.  He  would 
welcome  straightforward  dealing  that  went  into  his  circumstances. 


vv,  26—29.]  JOB,   VI.  49 

Do  ye  imagine  to  reprove  words,  26 

And  the  speeches  of  one  that  is  desperate,  wJiich  are  as 

wind  ? 
Yea,  ye  overwhelm  the  fatherless,  27 

And  you  dig  a  pit  for  your  friend. 

Now  therefore  be  content,  look  upon  me;  28 

For  //  is  evident  unto  you  if  I  lie. 

Return,  I  pray  you,  let  it  not  be  iniquity;  29 

Yea,  return  again,  my  righteousness  is  in  it. 

26.  do  ye  imagine]  that  is,  is  it  your  purpose?  think  ye? 

and  the  speeches... vi\{\c\i^x^  as  %vind\    Rather,  thougli  tlie  speeclies 
of  one  that  is  desperate  go  into  the  wind. 

27.  This  verse  probably  reads, 

Yea,  ye  would  cast  lots  upon  the  fatherless, 
And  bargain  over  your  friend. 

A  strong  invective  against  their  unfeeling  behaviour.  The  words  are 
severe ;  the  preceding  passage,  however,  in  which  their  refusal  of 
sympathy  {vv.  12,  23),  and  their  petty  faultfinding  with  Job's  language 
(rw.  25,  26),  are  referred  to,  naturally  leads  up  to  the  idea.  The  same 
phrase  to  cast  lots  occurs  i  Sam.  xiv.  42,  and  the  phrase,  baj-gain  over 
or  make  merchandise  of,  occurs  again,  Job  xli.  6  (Heb.  xl.  30),  "will 
the  partners  bargain  over  him?"  The  "fatherless"  is  probably  the 
child  of  the  debtor.  After  his  death  the  ruthless  creditors  cast  lots 
for  possession  of  the  child  as  a  slave. 

28.  The  verse  means  as  a  whole. 

Now,  therefore,  be  pleased  to  look  upon  me, 
I  will  not  surely  lie  to  your  face  ! 

"  Be  pleased,"  or,  as  we  say,  be  good  enough.  "  To  your  face,"  as  in 
ch.  i.  II.  Job  desires  that  instead  of  speaking  at  him  with  averted 
faces  they  would  look  him  in  the  face,  and  judge  from  his  countenance 
whether  he  would  lie  directly  in  asserting  his  innocence — a  test  that 
only  conscious  honesty  would  propose. 

29.  Return,  I  pray  yoii\     The  verse  means. 

Turn,  I  pray  you,  let  there  be  no  injustice  ; 
Turn  again,  I  say  ;  my  cause  is  righteous. 

The  word  "turn  "appears  to  mean  not  "begin  anew,"  but  "adopt  another 
course,"  that  is,  proceed  on  other  suppositions  than  that  of  my  guilti- 
ness, and  seek  another  explanation  of  my  calamities.  Hence,  he  adds, 
let  there  be  no  injustice,  or  wrong,  that  is,  on  the  part  of  his  friends  in 
imputing  guilt  to  him.  The  phrase  "my  cause  is  righteous"  means 
literally  my  right  is  in  it,  that  is,  is  here,  is  present ;  in  other  words, 
I  have  a  righteous  cause.  In  it  can  hardly  mean,  in  the  matter  under 
discussion,  as  if  the  meaning  were  :  the  question  is  one  that  concerns 
my  rectitude.     By  his  right  or   righteous   cause  Job   means  his  plea 

JOB  4 


50  JOB,  VI.  [v.  30- 

Is  there  iniquity  in  my  tongue  ? 

Cannot  my  taste  discern  perverse  things? 

against  God  in  reference  to  his  afflictions  ;  in  this  plea  he  has  right  on 
his  side.  .       ^      . 

30.  In  V.  28  Job  asseverated  that  he  spoke  truth  m  affirming  his 
innocence.  In  v.  29  he  affinned  that  he  had  right  on  his  side  in  his 
plea  against  God,  in  other  words  that  he  was  wrongly  afflicted.  This 
verse,  therefore,  can  hardly  he  a  new  assertion  that  he  speaks  the  truth 
when  he  affirms  his  innocence ;  it  must  refer  to  a  point  further  back, 
and  be,  in  the  form  of  a  question,  an  affirmation  of  his  ability  to  say 
whether  he  is  innocent  or  not,  and  to  judge  rightly  regarding  the  nature 
of  his  afflictions.  The  question,  Is  there  iniquity  in  my  tongue  ?  means 
Is  my  tongue  perverted  that  it  cannot  distinguish?  In  the  second 
clause  "taste "or  "palate"  is  not  referred  to  as  an  organ  of  speech 
but  of  perception  (ch.  xii.  11). 

The  expression  "perverse  things"  may  mean  wickednesses.  This 
may  be  used  generally  and  the  question  in  the  second  clause  have  the 
same  meaning  as  that  in  the  first,  viz.  whether  Job  had  lost  moral 
sense  and  could  not  distinguish  wrong  from  right  ?_  And  the  whole 
would  be  an  affirmation  of  the  soundness  of  his  moral  judgments,  meant 
to  support  the  asseveration  of  his  innocence  and  the  righteousness  of 
his  cause  [vv.  28,  29).  The  phrase  "perverse  things"  is  that  rendered 
"calamity  "  v.  2,  and  this  might  be  the  meaning  here :_  "  cannot  my  taste 
discern  calamities?"  i.e.  the  true  nature  of  my  afflictions,  and  perceive 
that  they  are  undeserved  and  unjust? 

Either  of  the  above  meanings  forms  a  fitting  and  pathetic  transition 
to  the  renewed  cry  of  despair  in  ch.  vii.  For  that  which  makes  Job's 
condition  so  crushing  to  him  is  that  though  innocent  he  feels  himself  in 
the  hands  of  a  ruthless  and  arbitrary  fate,  which,  regardless  of  his 
innocence,  is  bent  on  destroying  him.  For  this  fate  he  has  no  other 
name  but  God ;  cf.  ch.  ix.  22  seq.,  xxiii.  13  seq, 

Ch.  VII.    Renewed  outburst  of  despair  at  the  thought 

OF   HIS  SORROWFUL  DESTINY. 

With  a  deeper  pathos  than  any  that  had  gone  before,  this  innocence 
of  his  and  this  capacity  to  form  tnie  moral  judgments  regarding  his 
history  (ch.  vi.  28 — 30)  being  his  starting-point,  Job  turns  to  the  broad 
world,  to  contemplate  how  helpless  man  is  with  these  qualities  against 
that  fated,  inexorable  misery  called  human  life.  His  view  is  general, 
though  he  himself  is  the  centre  of  it,  and  his  own  history  gives  colour 
to  that  of  man. 

First,  vv.  I — 10,  his  complaint  is  that  human  life  is  short  and  evil,  in- 
exorably short  and  arbitrarily  evil.  It  is  a  soldier's  "  campaign,"  and 
a  hired  labourer's  "day,"  a  time  of  heavy,  forced  toil  at  the  stern  will 
of  another,  in  which  one  longs  for  discharge,  and  pants  for  the  shadow, 
— the  release  and  the  night  of  death.  The  toil  of  this_  time  and  the 
fated  compulsion  of  it  Job  chiefly  describes  in  vv.  2 — 5  ;  its  brevity  and 


V.  I.]  JOB,  VII.  5t 

Is  there  not  an  appointed  time  to  man  upon  earth  ?  ' 

the  regrets  that  accompany  having  lived  and  ceasing  to  live,  in  zrj. 
6 — -lo. 

Second,  w.  xi — 21.  It  is  dangerous  dwelling  on  misery,  it  usually 
but  adds  to  it.  The  misery  of  feeling  we  are  miserable  is  exquisite. 
With  too  fertile  a  fancy  Job  had  heaped  images  together  to  picture  out 
the  fatal  brevity  of  life, — the  motion  of  the  shuttle  (v.  6),  the  wind 
\v.  7),  the  glance  of  the  eye  {v.  8),  the  cloud  of  vapour  gorgeous  for  a 
moment  but  dissolved  by  the  very  light  that  illuminates  it  {v.  9) — and 
the  inexorable  ' '  nevermore "  that  death  writes  on  things,  on  one's 
"home"  and  "place"  (v.  10)  when  he  is  carried  from  it;  and  these 
regrets  combine  with  that  impatience  of  coercion  natural  to  the  mind 
and  drive  him  on  with  a  certain  recklessness  to  utter  his  feelings  in  the 
face  of  that  Power  whose  irresistible  constraint  presses  upon  him.  He 
is  not  unconscious  of  the  meaning  of  what  he  is  going  to  do,  for  that 
which  binds  him  in  such  chains  of  misery  is  not  a  power  but  a  Person. 
Nevertheless  he  will  not  be  deterred — I  also  will  not  refrain  my 
mouth  (z*.  11). 

Thus  commences  a  remonstrance  with  God,  who  disposes  all,  which 
is  only  saved,  if  it  be  saved,  from  being  too  bold  by  that  reverential 
hesitation  and  half  pause  which  marks  the  commencement  of  it. 
First,  he  asks  if  he  be  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  stability  of  the 
imiverse  that  he  needs  to  be  so  restrained  and  subdued  with  plagues  by 
God?  In  the  description  of  these  plagues  his  tone  rises  into  the 
sharpest  despair  and  he  begs  for  death,  desiring  only  that  God  would 
leave  him  alone  and  give  him  a  little  respite  before  he  departs,  vv, 
II — 16. 

Then  he  asks  whether  man  is  not  too  mean  a  thing  for  God  to 
torment?  appealing  to  the  Almighty's  sense  of  His  own  greatness  and 
the  unworthiness  of  distressing  so  slight  a  thing  as  man  ;  and  travestying 
with  a  surprising  acuteness  of  mind  and  bitterness  of  irony  the  admiring 
gratefulness  of  the  Psalmist  that  God  "  made  so  much  "of  man  (Ps.  viii.), 
V.  17 — 19. 

Finally  he  comes  to  that  to  which  perhaps  he  would  rather  not  come 
at  all,  the  supposition,  which  he  will  hazard  though  scarcely  concede, 
that  he  has  sinned,  and  asks,  If  so,  what  can  I  do  unto  thee?  how  can 
I  by  my  sin  injure  thee?  Even  in  hazarding  this  supposition  he  casts  a 
side-glance  of  discontent  on  God,  naming  Him  watcher  or  spy  of  men, 
as  if  it  was  due  to  Him  if  not  that  sin  was  at  least  that  it  was  raked  to 
the  surface.  And  he  concludes  with  asking  why  God  does  not  take 
away  his  sin  and  spare  him — for  soon  it  will  be  too  late,  vv.  20,  21. 

1.  The  connexion  is  with  the  preceding  verses  ch.  vi.  28 — 30,  which 
express  the  thought  of  Job's  innocence,  and  the  thought  thnt  in  spite  of 
his  innocence  he  is  miserably  plagued.  Under  this  feeling  he  throws 
his  eye  over  all  mankind,  and  sees  them  also  doomed  by  an  inexorable 
destiny  to  a  life  that  is  brief  and  filled  with  pain. 

an  appointed  time]  Or,  a  time  of  service.  The  reference  is  to  the 
hard  service  of  the  soldier,  in  which  there  are  two  elements,  the  fixed 

4—2 


52  JOB,   VII.  [vv.  2—4. 

Are  7iot  his  days  also  like  the  days  of  a  hireling? 

As  a  servant  earnestly  desireth  the  shadow, 

And  as  a  hireling  looketh  for  the  reward  of  his  work: 

So  am  I  made  to  possess  months  of  vanity, 

And  wearisome  nights  are  appointed  to  me. 

When  I  lie  down,  I  say. 

When  shall  I  arise,  and  the  night  be  gone? 

period  and  the  hard  toil  of  the  campaign.     Both  are  laid  on  man  by  a 
power  to  which  he  is  subject ;  cf.  Isai   xl.  2 ;  Job  xiv.  14. 

days  of  a  hiirling]  The  "  hireling  "  might  be  the  mercenary  soldier, 
whose  fate,  far  from  home  and  at  the  disposal  of  an  alien  power,  might 
be  thought  harder  even  than  that  of  the  ordinary  soldier.  The  word  is 
used  in  this  sense,  Jer.  xlvi.  21,  and  the  verb,  2  Sam.  x.  6.  In  v.  2, 
however,  the  word  has  its  ordinary  sense  of  a  hired  labourer,  and  this  is 
probably  its  meaning  here. 

2.  With  slight  change  the  verse  reads, 

As  a  slave  who  panteth  for  the  shadow. 

And  as  an  hireling  who  looketh,  &c. 
The  slave  in  the  heat  and  under  his  hard  toil  pants  for  the  shadow  of 
evening,  the  day's  end ;  and  the  hireling  looks  for  his  wages,  that  is, 
the  close  of  the  day  ;  cf  Prov.  xxi.  6. 

3.  made  to  possessl  lit.  made  to  inherit.  They  are  laid  on  him  by 
the  will  of  another.  Job  narrows  his  view  here  from  the  lot  of  men  in 
general  to  his  own.  He  is  one  of  an  afllicted  race,  but  the  universal 
misery  does  not  alleviate  his  own,  it  rather  increases  it. 

That  loss  is  common  would  not  make 

My  own  less  bitter,  rather  more; 

Too  common  !     Never  morning  wore 
To  evening,  but  some  heart  did  break. 

A  sorrowing  Arab  poet  gives  expression  to  a  different  feeling  : 

Did  not  a  common  sorrow  console  me  I  would  not  live  an 

hour  among  men. 
But  whenever  I  will,  they  in  like  condition  with  myself  re- 
spond to  me.  Hamasa,  p.  389,  396. 

The  point  of  comparison  between  Job's  life  and  the  day  of  the  hireling 
lies  in  their  common  toil  and  their  common  longing  for  the  end  of  it. 
Job  describes  his  day  as  "months  of  vanity"  and  "nights  of  trouble," 
"indicating  that  his  disease  had  already  endured  a  long  time.  He  refers 
to  "nights"  perhaps  because  his  pains  were  severest  then  (cf  v.  ^,  14, 
ch.  XXX.  17);  although  in  the  East  the  method  also  of  counting  by 
nights  instead  of  days  was  common. 

"4,  5.  A  grapliic  account  of  his  condition  under  his  malady.  Verse  4 
should  probably  be  rendered. 

When  I  lie  down  I  say.  When  shall  I  arise? 

And  the  night  stretches  out,  and  I  am  full  of  tossings,  .Sec. 


vv-  5-9-] JOB,   VII. 53 

And  I  am  full  of  tossings  to  and  fro  unto  the  dawning  of 

the  day. 
My  flesh  is  clothed  with  worms  and  clods  of  dust;  . 

My  skin  is  broken,  and  become  loathsome. 
My  days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle,  < 

And  are  spent  without  hope. 

O  remember  that  my  life  is  wind:  ^ 

Mine  eye  shall  no  more  see  good. 

The  eye  of  him  that  hath  seen  me  shall  see  me  no  more:   i 
Thine  eyes  a7-e  upon  me,  and  I  am  not. 
As  the  cloud  is  consumed  and  vanisheth  away:  c 

So  he  that  goeth  down  io  the  grave  shall  come  up  no 

niore. 

At  evening  he  longs  for  morning  (Deut.  xxviii.  67),  but  the  night  seems 
to  him  to  prolong  itself,  and  he  tosses  restlessly  till  the  daybreak, 

5.  ivith  won/is  and  clods  of  dust\  His  ulcers  bred  worms ;  and  the 
hard  earthy-like  crust  of  his  sores  he  calls  lumps  of  dust. 

is  hroketi,  and  become  loathsome']  Rather,  my  skin  closes  and  breaks 
afresli — the  allusion  being  to  the  alternate  gathering  and  running  of  his 
sores,  which  went  on  continually. 

Verses  i — 5  describe  the  pain  of  life ;  the  following  verses,  6 — 10,  its 
brevity  and  utter  extinction  in  death.  There  is  no  break,  however,  in 
the  connexion,  for  it  is  the  exhausting  pains  described  in  vv.  3 — 5  that 
naturally  suggest  the  hopeless  brevity  of  his  life.  Job  has  been  thought 
inconsistent  in  complaining  that  life  being  evil  is  also  brief.  But  in 
his  view  life  itself  is  the  highest  good  ;  it  should  be  free  of  evil  and 
prolonged.  And  his  complaint  is  that  human  life  has  been  made  by 
God  both  evil  and  brief;  cf.  ch.  xiv.  r  seq. 

6.  By  his  "days"  is  meant  his  life  as  a  whole,  not  his  individual 
days,  which  are  far  from  passing  quickly  {7'.  4) ;  and  "are  spent" 
means,  have  been  consumed  (as  v.  9),  or,  are  come  to  an  end  (Gen.  xxi. 
15).  He  regards  his  life  as  near  a  close,  for  his  disease  was  incurable; 
this  is  expressed  by  "without  hope,"  i.  e.  hope  of  recovery  or  relief. 

7.  This  feeling  of  the  hopeless  brevity  of  his  life  overwhelms  the 
sufferer,  and  he  turns  in  supplication  to  God,  beseeching  Him,  the  Ever- 
lasting, to  think  how  swiftly  his  mortal  life  passes,  cf.  Ps.  cii.  11. 

see  good]  i.e.  happiness  or  prosperity.  He  means  in  this  life;  but 
then  the  state  of  the  dead,  though  not  extinction,  was  not  to  be  called 
life,  it  was  but  a  dreary,  dreamy  shadow  of  life,  having  no  fellowship 
with  the  living,  whether  men  or  God;  cf.  ch.  x.  21  seq.;  Ps.  vi.  5  ; 
Eccles.  ix.  5  seq. ;  Is.  xxxviii.  18. 

8.  are  upo}i  me,  and  Iain  noi]  Perhaps  rather,  shall  be  upon  me  and  I 
shall  not  be ;  God  will  look  for  him,  enquiring,  it  may  be,  after  the 
work  of  Plis  hands,  but  he  shall  be  gone  ;  cf.  v.  21. 

9.  goel/i  down  to  the  grave]  Heb.,  down  to  She^Sl,  the  place  of  de- 
parted persons.     This  is  never  in  the  Old  Testament  confounded  with 


5+  JOB,  VII.  [vv.  10—13. 

>      He  shall  return  no  more  to  his  house, 

Neither  shall  his  place  know  him  any  more. 
;      Therefore  I  will  not  retrain  my  mouth; 

I  will  speak  in  the  anguish  of  my  spirit; 

I  will  complain  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul. 
'■      A/n  I  a  sea,  or  a  whale, 

That  thou  settest  a  watch  over  me  ? 
;      When  I  say,  My  bed  shall  comfort  me. 

My  couch  shall  ease  my  complaint; 

the  grave,  although,  being  an  ideal  place  and  state,  the  imagination 
often  paints  it  in  colours  borrowed  from  the  grave  and  the  condition  of 
the  body  in  death  ;  cf  ch.  iii.  13  seq.,  x.  21  seq. 

11.  Job  lieaps  image  upon  image  to  set  before  himself  and  the  eye 
of  God  the  brevity  of  life,  the  weaver's  shuttle  (v.  6),  the  wind  (v.  7), 
the  morning  cloud  [v.  9,  Hos.  vi.  4),  ending  with  a  pathetic  reference 
to  his  home  which  shall  see  him  no  more  (v.  10).  These  regrets  alto- 
gether overmaster  hhn  and,  combining  with  his  sense  of  the  wrong 
which  he  sufTers  and  his  impatience  of  the  iron  restraints  of  human 
existence,  hurry  him  forward,  and  he  resolves  to  open  the  floodgates  to 
the  full  stream  of  his  complaint  {v.  11):  Therefore  I  will  not  refrain 
viy  mouth,  i.e.  therefore  I  also,  I  on  my  side,  will  not  refrain. 

12.  First,  he  asks  with  bitter  irony  if  he  is  the  sea  or  thf  monster  of 
the  sea,  that  he  must  be  watched  and  subdued  with  plagues  lest  he 
prove  dangerous  to  the  universe  ?  The  proud  waves  of  the  sea  must  be 
confined  and  a  bound  which  they  cannot  pass  set  to  them  (ch.  xxxviii.  8 
seq.;  Jer.  v.  22);  has  he  a  wild,  untameable  nature  like  this?  The 
monster  of  the  sea  here  is  no  real  creature  such  as  the  crocodile,  "sea" 
being  used  in  the  sense  of  the  river.  The  connexion  shews  that  the 
reference  is  to  the  half  poetical,  half  mythological  conception  of  the  raging 
sea  itself  as  a  furious  monster,  for  it  is  God  that  sets  a  watch  over 
it.  Studer  boldly  renders,  "am  I  the  sea,  or  the  sea  serpent  ?"  His  sea 
serpent,  however,  is  not  that  of  the  modern  mariner  and  the  mythology 
of  our  own  day,  but  that  of  a  more  ancient  mythology.  The  serpent  of 
the  sea — which  was  but  the  wild  stormy  sea  itself — wound  himself 
around  the  land  and  threatened  to  swallow  it  up,  as  the  serpent  of  the 
sky  swallowed  up  the  heavenly  luminaries  (ch.  xxvi.  12,  see  on  iii.  8). 
God  sets  a  watch  upon  the  one,  as  His  hand  pierces  the  other,  lest  the 
fixed  order  of  the  worlil  be  disturbed  and  land  and  sea  or  light  and 
darkness  be  confused.  Job  enquires  if  he  must  be  watched  and  plagued 
like  this  monster  lest  he  throw  the  world  into  disorder? 

13.  14.     Further  description  of  the  plagues  employed  to  subdue  him. 
ease  my  co/n/>laint]  Comflaint  always  means  complaining,  not  malady; 

ch.  ix.  27,  x.  I,  xxi.  4,  xxiii.  2.      When  he  looks  for  sleep 
That  knits  up  the  ravelled  sleeve  of  care, 
Balm  of  hurt  minds, 

instead  of  finding  it  he  is  scared  with  dreams  and  terrified  through 


vv.  14—18.]  JOB,  VII.  55 

Then  thou  scarest  me  with  dreams,  14 

And  terrifiest  me  through  visions: 

So  that  my  soul  chooseth  strangUng,  is 

Afid  death  rather  than  my  hfe. 

I  loathe  ///  I  would  not  live  alway:  16 

Let  me  alone;  for  my  days  are  vanity. 

What  is  man,  that  thou  shouldest  magnify  him  ?  17 

And  that  thou  shouldest  set  thine  heart  upon  him  ? 

And  that  thou  shouldest  visit  him  every  morning,  is 

And  try  him  every  moment  ? 

visions.     Such  distressing  dreams  and  terrors  in  sleep  are  said  to  be  one 
of  tlie  symptoms  of  Elephantiasis. 

15.  Consequence  of  the  preceding,  z/.  14. 

chooseth  strangling']  A  sense  of  choiring  is  one  of  the  accompaniments 
of  the  disease,  wliich  is  said  to  end  sometimes  in  actual  suffocation.  Job 
refers  to  this  symptom,  saying  that  he  is  driven  to  desire  that  it  might 
be  really  fatal.  The  parallel  word  death  in  the  next  clause  shews  that 
this  is  what  he  is  driven  to  wish  for,  but  he  selects  this  form  of  death  as 
one  incidental  to  his  disease,  and  one  with  which  he  had  perhaps  felt 
himself  more  than  once  threatened. 

death  rather  than  my  life]  lit.  death  rather  than  these  my  bones.  So 
he  describes  the  emaciated  skeleton  to  which  he  was  reduced. 

16.  So  keenly  does  he  realize  the  misery  of  his  condition  and  the 
intolerable  painfulness  of  his  life,  that  he  breaks  out  into  a  passionate 
cry  that  he  hates  and  is  weary  of  life — /  loathe  it.  The  object  of  his 
loathing  is  not  expressed,  but  it  is  rather  life  in  general,  as  the  words, 
/  would  not  live  alway,  indicate,  than  what  he  calls  his  "  bones,"  cf. 
X.  21.  No  emphasis  falls  on  alway,  the  phrase  "I  would  not  live 
alway"  is  rather  an  exclamation  of  revulsion,  meaning  I  desire  not  life. 

let  me  alone]  i.e.  cease  from  paining  me  with  such  afflictions.  Job 
like  his  friends  regarded  his  sufferings  as  inflicted  directly  by  the  hand 
of  God,  and  if  God  would  leave  him  his  pains  would  cease.  The 
words  here  are  hardly  a  prayer,  but  something  like  an  imperious  com- 
mand, to  such  a  height  of  boldness  is  the  sufferer  driven  by  the  keen- 
ness of  his  pains.  The  last  words,  "for  my  days  are  vanity,"  support 
his  demand  that  God  would  let  him  alone,  by  a  reference  to  the  short- 
ness of  his  life  ;  he  seeks  a  little  respite  ere  he  die,  cf.  x.  20  seq.  This 
reference  to  his  life  as  "vanity"  or  a  breath  forms  the  natural  transi- 
tion to  the  next  question. 

17 — 19.  Second,  Job  asks.  If  man  be  not  too  mean  a  thing  for  God 
thus  to  busy  Himself  with  and  persecute  ?  cf.  ch.  xiv.  3. 

set  thine  heart]  that  is,  thy  mind;  as  magnify  means,  to  think  great, 
to  consider  of  importance. 

18.  The  words  of  this  verse  recall  Ps.  viii.  5,  cxliv.  3,  the  former  of 
which  passages  at  least  must  have  been  in  the  Author's  mind.  The 
admiring  gratefulness  of  the  Psalmist  that  God  condescended  to  visit 


$6  JOB,  VII.  [vv.  19,  20. 

I      How  long  wilt  thou  not  depart  from  me, 

Nor  let  me  alone  till  I  swallow  down  my  spittle? 

>      I  have  sinned ;  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee, 
O  thou  preserver  of  men  ? 

man  and  gave  him  such  a  place  in  ITis  estimation  is  parodied  by  Job, 
and  tlie  Psabnist's  words  are  made  with  bitter  irony  to  express  his 
wonder  that  God  should  occupy  Himself  continually  with  so  slight  a 
thing  as  man,  and  make  him  the  object  of  His  unceasing  persecution. 

19.  depart  from  i)U-\  \\\..  look  aivay  from  nie  ;  an  impatient  demand 
that  God  would  turn  away  His  plaguing  glance;  cf.  "watcher  of  men," 
V.  20. 

s-coallow  down  my  spittle]  A  proverbial  phrase  like  "twinkling  of  an 
eye,"  signifying  a  moment,  as  we  might  say  "till  I  let  over";  cf. 
"draw  my  breath,"  ch.  ix.  18.  To  let  one  swallow  his  spittle  is  to 
give  him  a  moment's  respite  or  time.  The  phrase  is  not  unusual  among 
the  Arabs.  In  De  Sacy's  Notes  to  Hariri,  p.  164,  a  person  tells  the 
following:  "I  said  to  one  of  my  Sheichs  (teachers!,  Let  me  swallow 
my  spittle  ;  to  which  he  replied,  I  will  let  you  swallow  the  two  Con- 
fluents"(the  Tigris  and  Euphrates). 

20,  21.  Third,  Job  makes  the  supposition  that  he  has  sinned,  and 
asks,  how  such  a  thing  can  affect  God  ?  and,  why  He  does  not  take 
away  his  sin  instead  of  plaguing  him  unto  death  because  of  it? 

20.     The  first  half  of  the  verse  reads. 

Have  I  sinned  :  what  do  I  unto  thee,  O  thou  watcher  of  men  ? 

/  have  sinned'\  Rather  as  above,  have  I  sinned ;  the  words  being 
put  as  a  supi^osition,  equivalent  to,  if  I  have  sinned.  Job  makes  the 
supposition,  he  hardly  concedes  the  fact,  which  is  not  meantime  the 
point.  His  object  is  to  pursue  the  idea  that  even  sin  (supposing  it)  on 
man's  part  cannot  affect  God,  and  ought  not  to  be  the  reason  for  such 
unsparing  pains  as  man  has  to  suffer.  In  ch.  xiv.  3,  4,  where  Job  is 
calmer  and  more  self-possessed,  the  same  argument  occurs,  but  is  there 
supported  by  a  reference  to  the  universal  sinfulness  of  mankind,  which 
descends  to  the  individual  by  inheritance  and  makes  him  more  excusable 
and  pitiable.  Here  the  moral  relations  of  men  and  God  are  less  before 
his  mind,  it  is  God's  natural  Greatness  in  contrast  with  the  natural 
littleness  of  man  that  engages  his  attention,  and  he  thinks  that  in  this 
there  is  a  reason  why  men  even  if  sinful  should  be  less  severely  reckoned 
with. 

what  shall  I  do  iinlothee?]  Rather,  what  do  I  unto  thee?  that  is, 
how  do  I  affect  thee  by  my  sin  ?  Tlie  idea  is  repeatedly  expressed  in 
the  Poem  that  God  is  too  high  to  be  affected  by  men's  actions,  whether 
sinful  or  righteous,  cf.  ch.  xxii.  2  sc(].,  xxxv.  5  scq. 

tliou  presc>-jer  of  men]  Rather,  thou  watcher,  or  keeper,  of  men. 
"  Watcher"  or  keeper,  elsewhere  a  word  of  comfort  to  the  godly  (Deut. 
xxxii.  10 ;  Ps.  xxxi.  23,  cxxi.  4),  is  here  used  in  an  invidious  sense  to 
express  the  constant  espionage  exercised  by  God  over  men,  that  He  may 
detect  their  sin  and  bring  them  to  a  reckoning,  cf.  ch.  xiii.  27,  xiv.  16. 


V.  21.]  JOB,  VII.  57 

Why  hast  thou  set  me  as  a  mark  against  thee, 
So  that  I  am  a  burden  to  myself? 

And  why  dost  thou  not  pardon  my  transgression,  -- 

And  take  away  mine  iniquity? 
For  now  shall  I  sleep  in  the  dust; 

And  thou   shalt  seek  me  in  the  morning,   but  I  shall 
not  he. 

a  mark  against  thce\  lit.  unto  thee.  The  word  mark  here  does  not 
mean  a  target  at  which  to  discharge  arrows  (ch.  vi.  4,  xvi.  4),  but  a 
stumbling-block  or  obstacle  against  which  one  strikes.  Job  feels  that 
he  is  continually  in  the  way  of  God,  an  obstacle  against  which  tlie 
Almighty  is  always  of  set  purpose  striking  Himself.  The  thought  is 
one  of  unprecedented  boldness. 

am  a  burden  to  niyself\  Or,  am  become  a  burden,  &c.,  that  is,  weary 
of  myself  and  of  my  life,  of.  2  Sam.  xv.  33.  The  Septuagint  seems  to 
have  read,  "  a  burden  ii7ito  thee"  ;  and  according  to  Jewish  tradition  this 
was  the  original  reading,  but  was  corrected  by  the  scribes  as  savouring 
of  impiety. 

21.  seek  me  in  the  morning\  Rather,  seek  me,  simply,  or,  seek  me 
earnestly  ;  the  addition  "in  the  morning"  (just  as  "  betimes,"  ch.  viii. 
5)  rests  upon  a  mistaken  etymology.  Job  concludes  his  speech  by  a 
pathetic  reference  to  what  must  be  the  speedy  issue  of  God's  stringent 
watching  of  him :  he  will  lie  down  in  the  dust  and  even  should  God 
enquire  for  him  it  will  be  too  late. 

There  is  something  very  open  and  engaging  in  the  character  of  Job 
as  it  appears  in  this  speech.  He  confesses  the  impatience  that  Eliphaz 
found  fault  with,  though  he  excuses  it  by  the  incalculable  weight  of  his 
affliction  (ch.  vi.  2).  He  admits  that  his  words  have  been  wild,  though 
he  thinks  this  was  but  natural  when  a  creature  found  himself  in  conflict 
with  God  (ch.  vi.  4).  He  even  suggests  to  his  friends  the  worth  at 
which  to  estimate  his  language  when  he  says  that  the  words  of  one  that 
is  desperate  go  into  the  wind  (ch.  vi.  26).  And  he  goes  so  far  as  to 
speak  of  himself  as  losing  hold  of  the  fear  of  the  Almighty  under  the 
trial  of  his  calamities  (ch.  vi.  14).  There  is  something  simple  too  and 
childlike  in  his  defence  of  his  cry  of  despair  by  the  example  of  the 
lower  creatures,  which  also  express  their  pain  or  want  by  cries  of 
distress  (ch.  vi.  5). 

In  keeping  with  this  openness  in  regard  to  himself  is  his  impatience 
and  resentment  of  the  covert  insinuations  of  his  friends  through  their 
first  spokesman.  He  demands  that  they  should  shew  him  what  they 
are  hinting  at  by  the  pictures  they  are  drawing  and  the  blind  parables 
they  are  narrating  at  him  (ch.  vi.  24)  ;  he  himself  will  look  them  in 
the  face  and  athrm  his  innocence  (ch.  vi.  28).  And  even  the  one  bitter 
sentence  which  he  utters  against  their  hard-heartedness  (ch.  vi.  27)  is 
quite  in  harmony  with  the  honest  directness  of  the  rest  of  his  words. 

The  state  of  Job's  mind  in  ch.  vii.,  when  he  turns  away  from  his 


58  JOB,  VIII. 

friends  and  casts  his  eye  over  the  life  of  man  as  a  whole,  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  estimate.  It  appears  to  him  that  God  has  made  man's  condition 
upon  the  earth  full  of  painfulness  and  bounded  within  iron  limits.  The 
world  wears  many  aspects  according  to  the  eye  that  beholds  it.  It  was 
natural  for  one  in  Job's  condition  to  view  it  on  its  dark  side.  His  view, 
however,  has  deeper  grounds  than  mere  subjective  feeling.  The  view 
which  Eliphaz  presented  of  a  scheme  of  universal  goodness  linking  all 
events  into  a  unity  and  making  good  the  end  even  of  ill  may  be  the 
view  which  we  ultimately  rest  in.  Yet  we  believe  in  such  a  scheme 
rather  than  observe  it.  And  the  reasons  of  our  belief,  though  various, 
are  instinctive  and  ideal  oftener  than  inductive.  There  are  moments 
when  another  view  forces  itself  upon  the  mind.  And  Scripture  has 
here  given  this  experience  a  place  in  its  picture  of  man's  life.  It  may  be 
said  that  Job  spoke  under  a  mistake.  Men  so  often  make  mistakes 
even  in  the  highest  things.  It  may  also  be  said  that  enough  was 
revealed  to  Job  to  correct  his  false  impressions.  But  men  so  often  are 
either  unable  or  unwilling  to  receive  that  which  is  revealed. 

There  is  this  difference  between  us  and  Job :  where  we  can  say 
"  the  world,"  he  was  obliged  to  say  "  God."  In  this  chapter  he  regards 
God  almost  exclusively  on  the  physical  side  of  His  Being.  He  speaks 
out  of  the  agony  of  suffering  and  from  the  abjectness  of  his  own  whole 
condition,  and  contrasts  these  with  the  natural  Greatness  of  the  Being 
who  has  plunged  him  into  them.  It  is  the  physical  claim  of  sentient 
life,  which  he  urges,  not  to  be  tortured  on  any  grounds  whatsoever  they 
be.  In  this  mortal  agony  of  the  creature,  and  in  view  of  the  Greatness 
of  God,  moral  considerations  are  almost  mocked  at,  and  sin  is  sneered 
out  of  reckoning  as  an  irrelevancy. 


Ch.  VIII.    The  speech  of  Eildad. 

Bildad  passes  over  in  complete  silence  both  Job's  defence  of  his 
despairing  cry  (ch.  vi.  i  — 13)  and  his  assault  upon  the  cruel  behaviour 
of  his  friends  (ch.  vi.  14 — 30),  and  comes  directly  to  the  main  issue,  viz. 
Job's  plea  against  God.  The  first  speaker  who  thinks  it  necessary  to 
defend  the  attitude  taken  up  by  the  three  friends  towards  Job  is  Eliphaz, 
who,  in  his  second  discourse  (ch.  xv.),  speaks  of  their  advices  to  Job  as 
"the  comforts  of  God  ami  a  word  gently  spoken"  (ch.  xv.  11),  to  which 
Job  retorts,  "miserable  comforters  are  all  of  you"  (ch.  xvi.  2). 

Bildad  attaches  his  speech  to  what  seemed  the  general  drift  of  Job's 
words,  particularly  to  two  points  where  his  drift  more  plainly  shewed 
itself:  first,  his  assertion  that  he  had  right  on  his  side  against  God  (ch. 
vi.  29),  which  implied  a  denial  of  the  rectitude  of  God  in  his  own  case  ; 
and  second,  his  assertion  that  the  race  of  mankind  were  bound  within 
the  chains  of  a  cruel  force  which  bore  upon  them  universally  with  an 
iron  pressure  (ch.  vii.  i  seq.,  v.  17  seq.).  In  the  last  point  Job  went  far 
beyond  his  own  individual  instance.  To  meet  these  assertions  Bildad 
affirms  the  rectitude  of  God,  not  merely  in  general  but  on  both  its  sides, 
as  a  discriminating  rectitude,  which  rewards  the  righteous  and  punishes 
the  wicked. 


vv.  1—3.]  JOB,  VIII.  59 

Then  answered  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and  said,  8 

How  long  wilt  thou  speak  these  t/ii/igs?  2 

And  how  lo?ig  shall  the  words  of  thy  mouth  be  like  a 

strong  wind  ? 
Doth  God  pervert  judgment?  3 

Or  doth  the  Almighty  pervert  justice  ? 

This  double-sided  action  of  the  divine  rectitude,  its  discrimination  as 
opposed  to  Job's  cruel  force  that  bore  on  mankind  as  a  whole,  is  the 
chief  point  in  Bildad's  discourse. 

The  other  point  of  importance  is  that  he  supports  his  doctrine  not  as 
Eliphaz  did  from  revelation  and  religious  feeling,  but  from  the  moral 
traditions  of  the  fathers  of  humanity  and  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients. 

The  speech  has  three  short  sections  : 

First,  vv.  I — 7.  Bildad's  affirmation  of  the  discriminating  righteousness 
of  God,  one  side  of  which  was  illustrated  in  the  destruction  of  Job's 
children  for  their  sin,  and  the  other  (as  all  good  men  hope)  will  be  seen 
illustrated  in  the  restoration  of  their  father  (for  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons)  for  his  righteousness'  sake  to  a  prosperity  greatly  surpassing 
what  he  before  enjoyed. 

Second,  w.  8 — 19.  This  doctrine,  especially  that  side  of  it  which  bears 
on  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  is  supported  from  the  proverbial 
Wisdom  of  the  Ancients.  The  moral  maxims  of  the  ancient  time  are 
thrown  into  gorgeous  similes  drawn  from  the  rank  and  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion of  the  swamps  and  river  brakes  of  the  semi-tropical  East.  The 
downfall  of  the  wicked  when  God  turns  away  from  him  is  as  rapid  and 
complete  as  the  sinking  and  withering  of  the  stately  reed  when  water  is 
withdrawn  from  it. 

Third,  vv.  20—22.  Bildad  finally  repeats  his  principle  on  both  its 
sides,  drawing  from  the  beneficent  side  of  it  the  assurance  of  a  happy 
future  for  Job. 

1 — 7.     The  discriminating  rectitude  of  God. 

2.  Before  coming  to  his  principle  and  by  way  of  introducing  it  Bildad 
expresses  his  wonder  that  Job  should  allow  himself  to  speak  such  things 
as  his  discourse  contained.  These  thing's  are  such  things  as  ch.  vi.  29, 
vii.  I,  2,  12 — 21,  and  perhaps  even  ch.  vi.  10.  He  refers  to  the  general 
drift  of  Job's  speech,  which  appears  to  him  to  be  an  assertion  that  God 
was  unjust  {v.  3). 

a  strotig  wind^  Violent,  and  empty,  cf.  ch.  xv.  2,  xvi.  3. 

3.  doth  God  pervert]  Or,  will  God  fervert...  will  the  Almighty,  &^c.? 
This  is  what  Bildad  means  by  his  reference  to  these  things.  Job's 
speech  put  briefly  is  an  assertion  that  God  perverts  justice.  God  is 
referred  to  in  his  character  of  ruler  of  the  world.  By  the  question 
Bildad  expresses  his  astonishment  and  abhorrence  of  what  seems  the 
drift  of  Job's  language.  The  words  "God"  and  "Almighty"  stand 
first  in  the  sentence  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  will  God...?  and  the  same 
word  "pervert"  is  also  used  in  both  clauses  with  an  intonation  of 
astonishment. 


6o  JOB,  VIII.  [vv.  4— 6. 

If  thy  children  have  sinned  against  him, 

And  he  have  cast  them  away  for  their  transgression; 
1      If  thou  wouldest  seek  unto  God  betimes, 

And  make  thy  suppHcation  to  the  Ahiiighty; 
;      If  thou  tvcrt  pure  and  upright; 

Surely  now  he  would  awake  for  thee, 

4 — 7.  In  opposition  to  Job's  impious  principle  Bildad  brings  forward 
his  doctrine  of  the  Divine  rectitude  on  both  its  sides,  the  one  ilhistrated 
in  the  fate  of  Job's  children  {v.  4),  the  other,  as  he  hopes,  to  be  illustrated 
in  the  history  of  Job  himself  [vv.  5 — 7). 

4.  The  construction  of  the  English  version  is  possible,  which  makes 
the  whole  of  v.  4  the  supposition  or  protasis  and  begins  the  second 
member  of  the  sentence  with  v.  5.  But  more  prol^ably  v.  4  is  complete 
in  itself:  if  tJiy  children  have  sinned  so  (or,  then)  he  hath,  S^c. 

cast  them  away  for'X  Rather  lit.,  he  hath  sent  them  away,  or,  let 
them  go,  into  the  hand  of  their  transgression.  The  idea  is  that  evil 
carries  its  own  retribution  with  it,  and  that  a  sinner  is  destroyed  by  the 
very  sin  which  he  commits,  a  common  idea  in  the  Book,  cf.  ch.  iv.  8, 
XV.  31,  35,  xviii.  7,  8,  XX.  12  seq.  Though  Bildad  puts  his  reference 
to  the  children  of  Job  hypothetically  there  is  great  harshness  in  the 
allusion,  and  we  may  understand  how  the  father  would  smart  under  it 
from  his  own  reference  later  in  the  Book  to  the  time  when  his  children 
were  yet  alive  :  "When  my  boys  were  about  me,"  ch.  xxix.  5.  A  wiser 
and  more  human-hearted  Teacher  tlian  Bildad  has  instructed  us  from 
the  instances  of  the  affliction  of  blindness  (John  ix.  2 — 3)  and  the 
accident  in  the  tower  of  Siloam  (I.ui<e  xiii.  4)  that  calamity  is  no  proof 
of  guilt  in  those  on  whom  it  falls,  and  that  evil  may  serve  in  the  hand  of 
God  wider  uses  than  the  chastisement  of  individuals.  This  is  the  very 
lesson  of  the  Book  of  Job,  though  it  seems  that  men  in  the  days  of  our 
Lord  had  not  yet  learned  it.  The  verse  refers  back  to  ch.  i.  19,  and  is 
evidence  that  the  Prologue  forms  an  integral  part  of  the  Book. 

5.  Bildad  saw  in  the  fate  of  Job's  children  not  only  ])roof  that  they 
had  sinned  but  that  their  sin  was  deadly.  He  saw  in  Jolt's  afflictions 
proof  equally  decisive  that  he  had  sinned,  but  the  fact  that  he  was  still 
spared,  however  severe  his  alllictions,  gave  a  different  complexion  to  his 
sin,  and  also  suggested  a  different  meaning  for  his  afflictions.  They 
were  chastisements  meant  for  his  good,  and  Bildad  is  enabled  to  hope 
the  best  for  Job,  if  he  will  rightly  lay  his  trials  to  heart. 

wouldest  seek  unto  God  /letiines']  Rather,  if  thou  wilt  seek  earnestly 
unto  God.      Thoti  is  emphatic  in  antitiiesis  to  "thy  children,"  v.  4. 

6.  if  thou  wert  pure]  Or,  if  ihou  be  pure,  cf  subjunctive  in 
ch.  xi.  15. 

surely  7iow  he  would  awake"]  Rather,  surely  now  he  will  awake. 
The  words,  if  thou  wilt  seek,  v.  5,  suggest  tlie  right  point  of  view  from 
which  to  look  at  the  words,  if  thou  be  pure,  &^c.  The  whole  passage 
refers  to  the  conduct  which  Bildad  hopes  for  from  Job.  The  meaning, 
therefore,  does  not  seem  to  be.  If  thou  be  i)ure,  as  thou  saycst,  and  as 


vv.  7— lo.]  JOB,  VIII.  6i 

And  make  the  habitation  of  thy  righteousness  prosiDerous. 

Though  tliy  beginning  was  small,  5 

Yet  thy  latter  end  should  greatly  increase. 

For  inquire,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  former  age,  i 

And  prepare  thyself  io  the  search  of  their  fathers: 

(For  we  are  but  oj  yesterday,  and  know  nothing,  c 

Because  our  days  upon  earth  are  a  shadow:) 

Shall  not  they  teach  thee,  ajid  tell  thee,  i 

And  utter  words  out  of  their  heart? 

we  have  supposed  thee;  but  rather,  If  thou  become  pure,  through 
penitence,  and  by  letting  afflictions  work  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  of. 
ch.  xi.  13  seq. 

make  the  habitation  of  thy  righteousness  prosperous']^  Or,  restore  thy 
righteous  habitation,  that  is,  restore  the  lost  prosperity  (cf.  Joel  ii.  25)  of 
thy  habitation,  now  become  tiie  abode  of  righteousness.  Bildad  comes 
out  with  his  suspicions  of  Job's  guilt  much  more  exphcitly  than  Eliphaz 
did  ;  and  similarly  Zophar,  ch.  xi.  13. 

7.  thy  beginning]  i.  e.,  thy  former  estate,  before  affliction ;  simi- 
larly "latter  end"  (read:  thy  latter  end  shall  greatly  increase)  is  said  of 
his  future  condition  of  prosperity ;  see  the  same  use  of  the  words  ch. 
xlii.  12.  The  verse  means  that  his  former  estate  shall  seem  small  in 
comparison  with  the  splendour  of  his  renewed  prosperity.  It  is  curious 
that  the  Author  here  allows  Bildad  to  utter  a  prophecy,  the  literal 
fulfilment  of  which,  though  not  through  the  means  suggested  by  Bildad, 
he  takes  care  expressly  to  chronicle. 

8 — 19.    The  moral  wisdom  of  the  ancients. 

Bildad,  having  laid  down  his  moral  principle,  invites  Job  to  reflect  that 
it  is  a  principle  resting  on  the  research  and  the  generalized  experience 
of  men  of  generations  long  past,  whose  long  lives  enabled  them  to  weigh 
and  balance  and  infer  from  the  multitude  of  cases  the  general  truth.  It 
is  no  new  theory  of  his  or  of  the  short-lived  men  of  to-day,  who  are  but 
of  yesterday  and  know  nothing.  These  maxims  of  the  ancient  world 
are  clothed  in  rich  and  gorgeous  similes  drawn  from  the  luxuriant  plant- 
life  of  the  sultry  East. 

8.  prepare  thyself  to  the  search]  i.e.,  give  heed  to  the  research,  or, 
to  that  which  their  fathers  have  searched  out.  By  referring  to  a  former 
age,  and  then  to  the  fathers  of  that  age  or  generation,  Bildad  intimates 
that  his  truth  was  recognised  through  all  antiquity  backwards  till  history 
loses  itself  in  the  beginnings  of  time. 

10.  words  out  of  their  heart]  Words  not  the  result  of  hasty  and  super- 
ficial generalizing,  but  of  an  experience  which  the  lengthened  lives  of 
these  men  had  enabled  them  to  pass  through,  and  the  principles  learned 
in  which  had  sunk  into  their  heart.  The  "heart"  is  in  Heb.  the 
deepest  part  of  human  nature,  whether  intellect  or  feeling.  There  is  an 
implied  condemnation  in  all  this  of  the  new  principles  which  Job  was 


62  JOB,   Vlir.  [vv.  II— 15. 

:      Can  the  rush  grow  up  without  mire  ? 

Can  the  flag  grow  without  water? 
!      Whilst  it  is  yet  in  his  greenness,  and  not  cut  down, 

It  withereth  before  any  o/Zwr  herb, 
t      So  are  the  paths  of  all  that  forget  God; 

And  the  hypocrite's  hope  shall  perish : 

Whose  hope  shall  be  cut  off, 

And  whose  trust  s//a//  be  a  spider's  web. 
;      He  shall  lean  upon  his  house,  but  it  shall  not  stand: 

He  shall  hold  it  fast,  but  it  shall  not  endure. 

setting  forth,  what  a  subsequent  speaker  calls  his  "doctrine,"  ch.  xi. 
4,  principles  based  on  nothing  but  his  own  single  experience  and 
instance. 

11.  The  ancient  wisdom  itself.  This  wisdom  is  plainly  not  that  of 
the  Arabs  or  Idumeans,  but  is  Egyptian.  The  rush  is  most  probably 
the  Papyrus,  which  is  said  to  attain  a  growth  twice  the  height  of  a  man. 
The  /iag  is  the  Nile-reed,  or  Nile-grass  (only  here  and  Gen.  xli.  2). 

12.  and  not  cut  dowit]  lit.  and  not  to  be  cut  down  (or,  plucked,  ch. 
XXX.  4),  that  is,  in  its  full  luxuriance,  not  ripe  nor  ready  for  cutting, 
and  therefore  with  no  trace  of  withering  or  decay  in  it.  In  this  state  of 
full  freshness,  when  water  is  withdrawn  from  it,  it  sinks  and  collapses, 
withering  sooner  than  any  herb. 

13.  Application  of  the  simile.  When  men  forget  God,  and  His 
sustaining  grace  is  withdrawn  from  them,  they  sink  down  suddenly  and 
perish  like  the  luxuriant  water-reed. 

t/ie  hypocnte\  This  word  is  difficult  to  translate,  it  means  rather  the 
godless,  or,  pro/am,  cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  1 1  ;  hypocrisy  in  the  ordinary  sense  is 
not-  at  all  the  idea  of  the  term.  The  verli  is  rendered  in  the  English 
Version  mostly  "defile"  or  "pollute,"  but  "profane"  would  suit 
most  of  the  passages. 

14.  shall  be  cut  off]  Perhaps  rather,  goeth  in  sunder,  though  the 
meaning  is  not  quite  certain.  One  would  have  expected  a  noun  here 
parallel  to  "spider's  web"  in  the  second  clause,  but  no  elTorts  to  find  a 
noun  have  been  successful.  Saadia  in  his  Arabic  Translation  rendered 
gossamer,  the  filmy  thread-like  substance  that  floats  in  the  air,  or  the 
tliread-like  shimmer  of  the  air  itself  when  sultry  and  moist.  This  is 
a  very  suitable  sense  but  is  without  sufficient  support. 

a  spider's  web]  lit.  spider's  house,  cf.  "house"  in  v.  15.  The 
flimsiness  of  the  spider's  house  is  proverbial  in  the  East.  Mohammed 
compares  idolaters  to  lh&  spider  :  The  likeness  of  those  who  take  to 
themselves  patrons  beside  God  is  as  the  likeness  of  the  spider  who  taketh 
to  herself  a  house  ;  and  verily  the  frailest  of  houses  is  the  spider's  house, 
if  they  did  but  know,  Kor.  xxix.  40.     See  also  Job  xxvii.  18. 

15.  hold  it  fast]  i.e.  holdfast  by  it.  The  meaning  of  course  is  not 
that  he  tries  to  uphold  his  house,  but  that  he  tries  to  support  himself  by 
holding  on  to  it.     Tliis  is  true  both  of  the  spider  and  the  man. 


vv.  16—20.]  JOB,   VIII.  63 

He  is  green  before  the  sun, 

And  his  branch  shooteth  forth  in  his  garden, 

His  roots  are  wrapped  about  the  heap, 

And  seeth  the  place  of  stones. 

If  he  destroy  him  from  his  place, 

Then  it  shall  deny  him,  saying,  I  have  not  seen  thee. 

Behold,  this  is  the  joy  of  his  way, 

And  out  of  the  earth  shall  others  grow. 

Behold,  God  will  not  cast  away  a  perfect  fnan, 

16 — 19.  A  new  figure  of  a  spreading,  luxuriant  plant,  suddenly 
destroyed,  and  leaving  not  a  trace  of  itself  behind. 

before  the  sitti]  This  scarcely  means  openly,  in  broad  day  and  in  the 
face  of  the  sun,  but,  under  the  fostering  heat  of  the  sun. 

17.  seeth  the  place  of  stoiu's\  This  translation  can  hardly  mean  that  in 
his  high  growth  he  looks  down  upon  the  stone  heap,  or  bends  over  it, 
but  rather  that  he  chooses  it,  fixes  himself  upon  it.  Others  prefer  the 
sense :  he  pierces  between  the  stones,  that  is,  with  his  roots,  or,  he  pierces 
the  place  of  stones,  the  word  which  ordinarily  means  to  see  having  it  is 
said  in  the  dialect  of  the  Hauran  the  sense  of  cut,  or  split  (Wetzstein 
in  Delitzsch,  note,  p.  120).  This  affords  a  more  distinct  sense.  The 
luxuriance  of  the  plant  and  its  hold  of  the  soil  are  graphically  de- 
scribed. It  is  fresh  and  green  under  the  heat  of  the  sun ;  its  suckers 
spread  out  and  run  over  all  the  garden  ;  its  shoots  clasp  the  heap  of 
stones  and  weave  themselves  about  it;  and,  finally,  its  roots  thrust 
themselves  down  and  pierce  the  stony  soil,  grasping  the  heart  of  the 
earth. 

18.  if  he  destroy  hi??t]  The  subject  is  God.  The  words  might  be 
rendered,  if  he  be  (when  he  is)  destroyed.  This  is  perhaps  better,  as  the 
plant  is  spoken  of.  The  point  of  the  verse  is  not  who  destroys  him,  but 
that  he  is  destroyed,  and  when  destroyed  utterly  disappears,  so  that  his 
place  says,  I  never  saw  thee.  In  spite  of  his  luxuriance  and  hold 
of  the  soil  he  is  suddenly  and  wholly  swept  away  and  his  place  denies 
ever  having  known  him. 

19.  Joy  of  his  imy]  way  may  be  "fate,"  as  often,  and  the  words 
would  be  ironical;  or  "way"  may  be  "  course  of  life  " — so  ends  what 
was  to  him  the  joy  of  his  course  of  life. 

shall  others  grow]  Or,  do  others  grow.  "Who  the  others  are  or  what 
quality  they  are  of  is  not  the  point,  which  is  that  his  place  is  occupied 
by  others  as  if  he  had  never  been.  He  leaves  no  trace,  no  blank,  and 
no  memory. 

20—22.  Finally  Bildad  repeats  his  general  principle  and  augurs  from 
the  one  side  of  it  a  happy  and  brilliant  future  for  Job. 

cast  away  a  perfect  man]  This  word  "  perfect  "  is  the  title  given  to  Job 
by  the  Author,  and  acknowledged  due  to  him  by  God,  see  on  ch.  i.  i. 
The  phrase,  God  will  not  cast  off  a  "perfect"  man,  becomes  almost  the 
text  of  Job's  reply,  cf.  ch.  ix.  20,  21 ;  x.  3. 


64  JOB,    Viri.  [vv.  21,  22. 

Neither  will  he  help  the  evil  doers: 
[       Till  he  fill  thy  mouth  ivith  laughing, 

And  thy  lips  icith  rejoicing. 
!      They  that  hate  thee  shall  be  clothed  with  shame; 

And   the   dwelling  place  of  the  wicked   shall  come  to 
nought. 

help  the  evil  doers]  lit.  holJ  l>y  /he  hajrd  o/evW-doers,  c(.  Is.  xli.  I3,xlii.  6. 

21.  (ill  /le  Jill]  If  this  rendering  be  adopted,  tiie  word  "  till  "  is  used 
somewhat  generally  to  express  what  God's  practical  rectitude,  as 
described  on  both  its  sides  v.  20,  will  issue  in.  Others  prefer  to  read, 
he  will^j'f/'  till — making  a  stop  at  the  end  of  z/.  20. 

22.  In  his  concluding  words  Bildad  puts  himself  and  his  friends 
right  with  Job,  and  desires  to  put  Job  right  with  himself  and  God.  By 
rct'erring  to  Job's  haters  he  intimates  that  he  and  his  friends  are  none  of 
them;  and  by  identifying  these  haters  with  the  wicked  {v.  22),  he  lets 
Job  know  that  he  regards  him  as  at  heart  one  who  belongs  to  quite 
a  different  class. 

The  position  of  Job's  friends  cannot  be  understood  at  all  unless  we 
consider  that  they  assumed  Job's  piety  at  heart,  but  concluded  from  his 
calamities  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  some  great  sins.  And  as  Eliphaz 
had  already  brought  to  bear  on  Job's  mind  the  influence  of  a  revelation, 
the  next  strongest  argument  was  the  consent  of  mankind.  And  to  some 
minds,  especially  in  that  condition  of  perplexity  and  confusion  on  religious 
experience  in  which  Job's  was,  the  general  accord  of  mankind  speaks 
with  a  more  persuasive  voice  than  anything  called  revelation.  Bildad 
clearly  enough  perceived  the  drift  of  Job's  words  in  ch.  vii.  ;  they  were 
to  the  effect  that  the  government  of  the  world  and  the  supreme  Power  in 
it  was  un-moral.  And  his  reply,  that  mankind  everywhere,  and  especially 
in  circumstances  that  gave  their  judgment  weight,  ha<l  percei\'ed  a  moral 
law  ruling  the  universe,  was  conclusive  as  a  general  principle.  His 
error  lay  in  supposing  that  this  was  the  only  principle  on  which  the 
universe  was  ruled,  and  in  imagining  that  this  principle  operated  always 
in  a  manner  direct  and  immediate.  Hence  the  principle  lost  its  effective- 
ness in  his  hands  by  being  stretched  to  uses  which  it  did  not  cover. 

Ch.  IX. — X.    Job's  reply  to  Bildad. 

The  Discourse  though  formally  a  reply  to  Bildad  seems  to  touch  also 
upon  things  said  in  the  speech  of  Eliphaz.  It  is  rather  difficult  to 
divide  into  paragraphs,  not  being  calm  and  logical  but  passionate  and 
hurried  and  passing  on  by  rapid  steps  from  one  point  to  another  all 
more  or  less  connected,  and  fusing  all  together  in  the  glow  of  a  fire  the 
colours  of  which  are  awe  before  an  omnipotent  Power,  and  moral  terror 
and  indignation  mixed  with  piteous  despair  at  the  indiscriminate  severity 
with  which  it  crushes  men. 

Job  starts  with  a  sneering  adhesion  to  the  maxim  of  his  friends,  How 
can  man  be  righteous  with  God  ?  by  which  he  means,  How  can  man 
make  his  righteousness  appear,  though  he  has  it,  seeing  God's  might 


JOB,   IX.  65 

will  overpower  him  in  all  attempts  to  substantiate  it  ?  This  idea  is 
carried  on  throughout  ch.  ix.  At  the  end  of  this  chapter  there  is  a 
pause.  The  sufferer  has  exhausted  his  idea  in  his  terrible  pictures  of 
the  Divine  might  and  the  hopeless  paralysis  of  the  Creature  before  His 
Majesty  in  any  meeting  with  Him  to  vindicate  its  own  innocence. 

But  now  as  he  pauses  for  a  moment  and  looks  around  on  his  condition, 
the  idea  returns  with  a  new  force  and  fills  his  mind,  and  pushes  him  out 
upon  a  new  stream  of  complaint.  And  as  in  ch.  vii.  12 — 21  he  had 
exhausted  possibility  in  speculating  what  it  could  be  in  man  or  himself 
that  provoked  the  Almighty's  hostility  to  him,  he  now  boldly  enters  the 
Divine  mind  itself  and  explores  every  corner  of  it  in  the  hope  of 
discovering  what  thought  or  feeling  or  defect  in  God  it  could  be  that 
led  Him  thus  to  afflict  and  destroy  him  in  a  way  in  such  contradiction 
to  His  former  gracious  treatment  of  him.  Baflled  in  every  effort  he  leaps 
to  the  desperate  conclusion  that  His  present  treatment  of  him  reveals 
God's  real  character,  and  that  His  former  favour  and  care  had  been 
lavished  on  him  only  that  at  the  last  He  might  the  more  effectually 
torment  him. 

Thus  the  Discourse  falls  into  two  great  sections  : 

Ch.  ix.  God's  might  and  the  terror  of  His  Majesty  will  prevent  man 
from  substantiating  his  innocence  in  his  plea  with  God. 

Ch.  X.  Job's  etTorts  to  discover  in  the  Divine  mind  the  secret  of  the 
terrible  afflictions  with  which  God  visited  him. 

Ch.  IX.     God's  Might  and  the  Terror  of  his  Majesty  will 

PREVENT    MAN     FROM    ESTABLISHING     HIS     INNOCENCE     IN     HIS 

PLEA  WITH  God. 

Starting  with  the  question.  How  can  man  substantiate  his  innocence 
in  the  face  of  God's  overpowering  might  {fv.  2,  3),  Job  passes  on  to  a 
delineation  of  this  Divine  power,  which  he  conceives  as  a  terrible 
irresistible  Force,  which  moves  mountains,  and  shifts  the  earth  from  its 
place ;  which  dictates  to  the  sun  that  he  shine  not ;  which  made 
the  mighty  constellations  of  the  sky ;  and  whose  workings  are  beyond 
the  compass  of  the  human  mind  to  grasp  (vv.  4 — 10). 

Then  passing  from  the  material  world  to  creatures  he  imagines 
this  Power  coming,  say,  upon  himself,  unseen,  beyond  intelligence 
{v.  11),  irresistible,  irresponsible  (v.  12),  and  cites  as  an  instance  good 
for  all  the  memorable  defeat  of  the  abettors  of  Rahab,  i/ie  helpers 
of  Rahab  succtimbed  to  him,  how  then  should  I  ansivcr  him  ?  [vv.  13, 
14).  What  Job  describes  is  a  meeting  of  God  and  man  that  the 
latter  may  uphold  his  innocence  against  Him,  or  perhaps  any  meeting 
of  God  and  man  ;  and  such  a  meeting  has  Job  to  face  in  the  attempt  to 
establish  his  innocence.  He  must  be  overpowered  and  fail  though 
guiltless : — if  I  were  innocent  I  could  not  assert  my  innocence,  I  must 
fall  down  and  supplicate  my  omnipotent  Opponent  [v.  15).  This  feeling 
of  helplessness  before  a  crushing  power  altogether  overmasters  Job  and 
rouses  him  to  a  recklessness  which  is  that  of  despair,  and  going  back 
upon  his  words,  if  I  tuere  innocent,  he  cries,  I  a/n  innocent,  innocent 
and  guilty  He  destroys  alike  ;  the  earth  is  given  into  the  hands  of  the 

JOB  c 


66  JOB,  IX.  [vv.  1—3. 

9  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 
a      I  know  //  is  so  of  a  truth : 

But  how  should  man  be  just  with  God  ? 
3      If  he  will  contend  with  him, 

wicked,  He  covers  the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof— if  it  is  not  lie,  who 
then  is  it?  [vo.  16 — 24). 

But  now  the  paroxysm  being  over  Job  proceeds  more  calmly  to  speak 
of  his  own  condition,  which  is  but  an  illustration  of  what  is  everywhere 
seen,  but  sorrow  and  perplexity  now  prevail  over  indignation.  He 
describes  the  pitiful  brevity  of  his  life  (vv.  25,  26).  And  with  a  touch- 
ing pathos  he  tells  how  he  sometimes  resolves  to  leave  off  his  sad 
countenance  and  brighten  up,  but  the  thought  that  God  has  resolved 
not  to  hold  him  innocent  again  crushes  him,  he  has  to  be  guilty,  and  all 
his  efforts  to  shew  himself  to  be  clear  are  vain  (z't/.  27 — 31).  And  he 
rounds  off  his  speech  with  a  reference  to  that  with  which  he  began,  the 
central  difficulty :  God  is  not  a  man  that  man  might  answer  Him;  there 
is  no  umpire  between  Him  and  man  to  impose  his  authority  on  both  ; 
but  if  He  would  lift  His  aftiicting  rod  from  Job  and  not  affright  him  with 
His  Majesty,  he  would  speak  without  fear,  for  his  conscience  is  void  of 
offence  [vv.  32—35). 

2.  It  is  not  quite  easy  to  see  what  form  of  the  maxim  of  the  friends 
it  is  to  which  Job  gives  his  sneering  assent  in  this  verse,  when  he  says, 
'J'o  be  sure  I  kiunu  that  it  is  so.  In  v.  10  he  quotes  words  from  Kliphaz, 
ch.  V.  9,  veriiatim,  and  he  may  refer  to  the  form  in  which  this  speaker 
put  forward  the  principle  common  to  them  all,  Shall  man  be  righteous 
before  God  ?  ch.  iv.  1 7.  In  this  case  the  second  member  of  the  verse 
merely  explains  the  words  that  it  is  so, 

Of  a  truth  I  know  that  it  is  so : 

How  shall  man  be  righteous  with  God? 

Job,  however,  gives  a  different  turn  to  the  words,  meaning  by  them, 
How  shall  man  substantiate  his  righteousness,  and  make  it  to  appear, 
when  he  has  to  maintain  it  in  the  face  of  the  overpowering  might 
of  God?  (v.  3).  Or,  Job  may  attach  his  reply  to  Bildad's  question, 
Will  God  pervert  right?  (ch.  viii.  3).  To  which  he  replies  :  Of  course 
— but  how  shall  man  have  right  with  God?  God's  power  makes  right. 
Job  does  not  quibble  with  words.  He  s])eaks  from  the  point  of  view  of 
his  own  circumstances  and  the  construction  which  he  put  on  them. 
His  afflictions  were  proof  that  God  held  him  guilty,  while  his  own 
conscience  declared  his  innocence.  But  he  was  helpless  against  God's 
judgment  of  him.  In  the  view  of  his  friends  and  all  men,  and  even 
himself,  his  afflictions  were  Gud's  verdict  against  him.  And  his  answer 
is  that  man  must  be  guilty  before  God  because  he  cannot  contend  with 
an  omnipotent  power  resolved  to  hold  him  guilty, 

3.  i/  he  tvill  contend]  Or,  if  he  ivoiild ;  if  he  (man)  should  desire 
to  contend  with  God.  "To  contend  "  is  a  legal  term  meaning  to  enter 
a  plea  with,  the  idea  of  a  court  or  judge  being  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker. 


vv.  4— 8.]  JOB,   IX.  (^1 

He  cannot  answer  him  one  of  a  thousand. 
He  is  wise  in  heart,  and  mighty  in  strength:  4 

Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  him,  and  hath  pros- 
pered ? 
Which  removeth  the  mountains,  and  they  know  not:  5 

Which  overturneth  them  in  his  anger. 
Which  shaketh  the  earth  out  of  her  place,  6 

And  the  pillars  thereof  tremble. 

Which  commandeth  the  sun,  and  it  riseth  not;  7 

And  sealeth  up  the  stars. 

Which  alone  spreadeth  out  the  heavens,  s 

And  treadeth  upon  the  waves  of  the  sea. 

Here  man  is  supposed  to  have  a  plea  with  God  on  the  question  of  his 

innocency,  or  on  any  question  involving  his  righteousness.     The  question 

in  V.  4,  "  Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  Him?"  makes  it  probable 

that  man  is  here  considered  the  appellant.     Others  take  the  subject  to 
-be  God:  if  He  were  pleased  to  contend  ivitli  him  (man),  cf.  vv.  14,  16. 

This  suits  the  second  half  of  the  verse,  but  seems  less  suitable  to  the 

general  connexion. 

he  catinot  answer  hiiii]  Or,  he  (man)  could  not  answer  him  (God)  one 

of  a  thousand  of  the  questions  with  which  in  His  infinite  wisdom  {v.  4) 

He  would  ply  him. 

4.     wise  in  hearty  i.e.  in  mind,  corresponding  to  "  mighty  in  power." 
hardened  himself  ]  Probably  hardened  his  neck,  i.e.  braved  him,  Prov. 

xxix.  I. 

hath  prospered'\  lit.  been  safe,  or  as  we  say,  "with  impunity." 

5 — 10.     Description  of  God's  omnipotent  power  as  it  displays  itself  in 

the  material  world. 

they  kiiow  7zot]  Suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  Ps.  xxxv.  8  ;  Jer.  1.  24. 

6.  The  reference  is  probably  to  earthquakes.  The  earth  is  conceived 
as  a  structure  supported  on  pillars,  ch.  xxxviii.  6  ;  Ps.  Ixxv.  3.  The 
conception  was  poetical ;  if  the  pillars  were  supposed  anything  actual, 
they  were  probably  the  roots  of  the  great  mountains  which  extended 
downwards  and  bore  up  the  earth,  as  the  part  of  them  above  the  earth 
supported  the  heavens. 

7.  The  reference  may  be  to  days  when  from  storm  and  darkness  the 
sun  seems  not  to  rise,  or  to  eclipses  and  sudden  obscurations  of  the 
heavenly  bodies. 

8.  The  point  lies  in  the  gigantic  power  of  God  who  "  alone  "  and  of 
Himself  stretched  out  the  heavens;  cf.  the  expression  of  the  same  idea 
of  power.  Is.  xl.  12,  xliv.  24.  In  Is.  xl.  22  it  is  said  that  God  stretches 
out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain  and  spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell 
in.  Our  "firmament"  is  a  relic  of  a  false  astronomy  for  which  scripture 
is  not  responsible. 

waves  of  the  sed\  lit.  heights  of  the  sea,  cf.  heights  of  the  earth,  Amos 
iv.  13.     The  "sea"  here  is  scarcely  the  celestial  waters,  Ps.  xxix.  3. 

5—2 


68  JOB,   IX.  [vv.  9— 13. 

Which  maketh  Arcturus,  Orion, 

And  Pleiades,  and  the  chambers  of  the  south. 

Which  doeth  great  things  past  finding  out; 

Yea,  and  wonders  without  number. 

Lo,  he  goeth  by  me,  and  I  see  hif?i  not : 

He  passeth  on  also,  but  I  perceive  him  not. 
I      Behold,  he  taketh  away,  who  can  hinder  him  ? 

Who  will  say  unto  him.  What  doest  thou  ? 
(      J/God  will  not  withdraw  his  anger, 

God  is  represented  as  walking  on  the  sea  when  its  waves  mount  up  to 
heaven,  and  His  voice  may  be  heard  in  the  thunder. 

9.  The  Hebrew  names  are  Uhh  {'ayish  ch.  xxxviii.  32),  keseel,?Lndi  kee- 
mah.  These  names  may  possibly  denote  the  Bear,  Orion  and  the 
Pleiades  or  seven  stars ;  there  is,  however,  considerable  uncertainty. 
The  word  keseel  means  "fool,"  which  is  to  be  interpreted  as  the  Syr. 
and  Chal.  in  this  place,  giant,  cf.  Gen.  vi.  4,  that  is,  some  heaven-daring 
rebel,  who  was  chained  to  the  sky  for  his  impiety.  Such  mythological 
ideas  belong  to  a  time  anterior  to  authentic  history,  though  as  still 
lingering  in  the  popular  mind  they  are  alluded  to  in  such  poems  as  Job. 
In  Is.  xiii.  10  the  word  is  used  in  the  general  sense  of  constellations. 
Kccmaii  perhaps  means  heap,  and  is  a  natural  name  for  the  Pleiades. 
Others  have  interpreted  the  expressions  differently  (see  Delitzsch 
Comment,  p.  127). 

tlie  chambers  of  tJte  soulhl  are  probably  the  great  spaces  and  deep 
recesses  of  the  southern  hemisphere  of  the  heavens,  with  the  constella- 
tions which  they  contain.  These  being  known  to  exist,  but  only  suggested 
to  the  eye,  are  alluded  to  generally. 

10.  The  description  of  the  operation  of  God's  might  in  the  material 
world  concludes  with  a  general  statement  that  this  operation  surpasses 
all  power  of  comprehension  by  the  human  mind.  The  words  are  exactly 
those  of  Eliphaz  ch.  v.  9,  but  while  to  Eliphaz  all  God's  operations  have 
an  ethical  meaning  and  subserve  one  great  purpose  of  goodness,  to  Job 
they  seem  the  mere  un-moral  play  of  an  immeasurable  Force.  This 
force  was  of  course  a  Person,  for  an  impersonal  force  is  an  idea  un- 
known to  the  Shemitic  mind.  But  this  force  seemed  all  the  more  tre- 
mendous to  Job  from  his  having  no  idea  of  second  causes  or  of  what  we 
call  laws  of  nature ;  the  phenomena  of  the  universe,  even  the  most 
stupendous,  were  the  immediate  work  of  this  mighty  agent. 

11 — 24.  From  the  operation  of  this  terrible  force  in  the  physical 
world  Job  passes  on  to  descril)e  its  display  among  creatures,  and  to  shew 
how  it  paralyses  and  crushes  them. 

11.  This  power  is  subtle  and  invisible  in  its  presence,  felt  but  im- 
possible to  grasp. 

12.  It  is  irresistible  and  irresponsible. 

ta/ceth  awav']  Carries  off,  as  a  beast  of  prey  its  booty. 
7vho  ca7t  hinder  him]  Or,  turn  him  Imck. 

13.  if  God  will  not  withdrazu]  Rather,  God  witlidraws  not.     His 


vv.  14,  15.]  JOB,  IX.  69 

The  proud  helpers  do  stoop  under  him. 

How  much  less  shall  I  answer  him,  i 

And  choose  out  my  words  to  reason  with  him  ? 

Whom,  though  I  were  righteous,  yet  would  I  not  answer,    i 

But  I  would  make  supplication  to  my  judge. 

fury  is  persistent  and  inexorable  till  it  has  accomplished  its  purpose, 
cf.  ch.  xxiii.  13 — 14. 

the  proud  helpers  do  sfoop\  Rather,  the  helpers  of  Rahab  did  stoop. 
The  "helpers"  are  the  abettors,  the  partizans  and  company  of  Rahab; 
and  the  clause  illustrates  by  an  example,  the  highest  example  that  could 
be  chosen,  the  statement  in  the  first  clause,  God  withdraws  not  his 
anger;  to  this  wrath  even  the  aiders  of  Rahab  succumbed,  (i)  "Rahab" 
means  pride  or  arrogancy.  But  the  "helpers  of  pride"  or  the  "proud 
helpers"  is  an  expression  too  indefinite  to  occur  in  the  present  con- 
nexion, where,  in  addition,  the  perf.  bowed  beneath  him,  points  to  a 
distinct  historical  event,  adduced  as  an  illustration.  (2)  In  Ps.  Ixxxvii.  4 
Rahab  is  a  name  for  Egypt;  so  Ps.  Ixxxix.  10,  Is.  xxx.  7  (for,  "their 
strength"  read  Rahab),  Is.  li.  9.  Any  historical  illustration,  however, 
from  the  history  of  Egypt  in  connexion  with  Israel  is  not  to  be  looked 
for  in  this  Book,  the  scene  of  which  is  laid  in  an  age  anterior  to  the 
Exodus.  Direct  allusions  do  not  occur  to  the  history  of  Israel.  Allusions 
of  any  kind  are  rare,  but  such  as  are  made  are  to  the  general  history  of 
mankind  before  Israel  became  a  nation,  cf.  ch.  xxii.  i6,  a  reference  to 
the  flood  or  the  cities  of  the  Plain.  (3)  In  Is.  li.  9  the  parallel  clause 
to  "cut  Rahab  (Egypt)  in  pieces,"  is,  "wounded  the  Dragoti."  Again 
in  Ps.  Ixxiv.  13 — 14  the  parallel  to  "didst  divide  the  sea"  is  "brakest 
the  heads  of  Leviathan. "  Erom  this  it  appears  that  Egypt  was  called 
Rahab,  Dragon  or  Leviathan  with  reference  to  its  native  monster,  which 
was  taken  as  the  symbol  of  the  nation  and  its  character  (cf.  Ps.  Ixviii.  30 
margin).  All  this  leads  finally  to  the  conclusion  that  Rahab  is  the 
monster  of  the  sea,  which  is  probably  nothing  but  the  sea  itself,  as 
appears  from  Job  xxvi.  12.  In  the  poetical  nature-myth  this  stormy 
sea,  assaulting  heaven  with  its  waves,  was  personified  as  a  monster 
leading  his  helpers  on  to  wage  war  with  heaven,  but  was  quelled 
(ch.  xxvi.  12)  by  the  might  of  God.  This  is  the  instance  of  God's  power 
adduced  by  Job.  That  the  Poet  makes  use  of  the  floating  fragments 
of  superstition  and  mythology  still  existing  in  the  popular  mind  has 
nothing  surprising  in  it. 

14.  Job  now  draws  an  inference  from  this  instance  to  his  own — how 
much  less  should  he  meet  God  in  a  hostile  plea? 

choose  out  my  words']  In  a  plea  against  God  circumspection  and  careful 
selection  of  language  would  be  needful,  but  the  self-possession  and 
calmness  requisite  for  this  would  be  destroyed  by  His  overbearing  might, 
and  the  terror  of  His  majesty. 

15.  though  I  were  rightcoiis'\  i.  e.  though  I  were  in  the  right,  though 
my  cause  was  just  against  Him. 

make  supplication  to  my  jiidge\  Rather,  to  mine  adversary,  or  op- 
ponent.    Had  Job  right  on  his  side  he  could  not  maintain  it;  over- 


70  JOB,  IX.  [vv.  i6— 21. 

i6      If  I  had  called,  and  he  had  answered  me; 

Yet  would  I  not  believe  that  he  had  hearkened  unto  my 
voice. 

17  For  he  breaketh  me  with  a  tempest, 

And  multiplieth  my  wounds  without  cause. 

18  He  will  not  suffer  me  to  take  my  breath, 
But  filleth  me  7uith  bitterness. 

19  K  J  speak  of  strength,  lo,  he  is  strong: 

And  if  of  judgment,  who  shall  set  me  a  time  to  plead? 

20  If  I  justify  myself,  mine  own  mouth  shall  condemn  me: 
Jf  I  say,  I  am  perfect,  it  shall  also  prove  me  perverse. 

21  Though  I  were  perfect,  jir/  would  I  not  know  my  soul: 
I  would  despise  my  life. 

powered  by  the  irresistible  and  awful  might  of  his  opponent  he  would 
desert  his  own  just  plea  and  supplicate  his  adversary. 

16.  In  vv.  14,  15  the  plea  against  God  is  not  supposed  actually 
entered  upon ;  the  idea  of  such  a  plea  presents  itself  to  Job's  mind  and 
he  pictures  the  results  that  would  follow  upon  himself;  in  v.  16  he 
assumes  the  plea  entered  upon,  that  he  had  actually  cited  God,  who 
had  appeared,  and  he  describes  what  would  follow  at  this  stage. 

if  I  had  called^  i.e.  cited  God  as  a  party  in  my  plea  against  Him. 

that  he  had  hearkened]  Rather,  that  he  would  hearken.  Mad  Job 
with  a  superhuman  courage  cited  God,  and  had  God  ap]3earcd,  Job 
would  not  believe  that  He  would  listen  to  him,  cf.  ''.  35,  ch.  xiii.  21  seq., 
xxiii.  6  seq. 

17 — 21.  These  verses  describe  what  would  ensue  in  the  supposed 
case  that  God  had  actually  responded  to  Job's  citation.  He  would  not 
listen  to  Job's  plea  but  would  crush  him  with  His  infinite  power.  The 
,  words  do  not  describe  what  Job  actually  suffers  at  present  or  has 
suffered,  but  what  he  would  have  to  endure  then,  though  the  colours  of 
the  terrible  picture  are  drawn  from  his  actual  sufferings. 

17.  he  breaketh]  Rather,  lie  would  break.  Similarly,  and  mul- 
tiply. The  word  translated  break  may  mean  to  seize  and  swallow  up, 
that  is,  to  sweep  away,  cf.  ch.  xxx.  22. 

18.  ivill  not  suffer]  Rather,  would  not  suffer.     And  so,  but  fill. 
19 — 21.     These  three  verses  read  as  follows, 

If  you  speak  of  the  strength  of  the  mighty,  Here  I  am  !  (saith  He) 
If  of  judgment,  Who  will  set  me  a  time? 

20.  Were  I  in  the  right,  mine  own  mouth  would  condemn  me, 
Were  I  perfect.  He  would  prove  me  perverse: 

21.  I  am  perfect !  I  regard  not  myself, 
I  despise  my  life. 

The  speaker  in  z^.  19  is  God,  at  least  it  is  He  who  uses  the  words,  "Here 
I  am,"  and  "Who  will  set  me  a  time?"  The  rest  may  be  words  of 
Job,  in  which  case  the  words  "saith  He"  must  be  supphe'd  to  these  two 


vv.  22,  23-] JOB,  IX. 71 

This  is  one  thing,  therefore  I  said  //,  = 

He  destroyeth  the  perfect  and  the  wicked. 
If  the  scourge  slay  suddenly,  = 

He  will  laugh  at  the  trial  of  the  innocent. 

phrases  alone.  It  gives  a  more  vigorous  sense  to  suppose  the  whole 
verse  spoken  by  God.  The  frightened  imagination  of  Job  with  much 
dramatic  force  represents  God  as  suddenly  flinging  Himself  into  the 
arena  before  all,  with  a  consciousness  of  irresistible  might  and  irrespon- 
sibility, ready  for  any  encounter  of  strength  and  defying  any  to  bring 
Him  to  law.  Thcactionof"  appointing  one  a  time"'  or  ordaining  a  day,  is 
of  course  not  the  action  of  the  plaintiff  but  of  a  judge,  and  the  words 
imply  the  irresponsibility  and  superiority  to  all  law  of  the  speaker. 

20.  In  V.  2o  Job  is  the  speaker  ;  he  describes  the  effect  upon  him  of 
the  might  of  God,  — though  he  had  right  on  his  side  his  own  mouth 
would  make  him  out  wrong  ;  out  of  terror  he  would  speak  at  random 
or  say  the  opposite  of  what  he  should  say.  The  word  perfect  is  used  as 
in  ch.  i.  I,  not  in  an  absolute  sense,  but  to  mean  upright  and  free  from 
transgression.  The  subject  in  the  second  clause  is  more  probably  God 
than'/A  i-e.  my  mouth;  were  Job  perfect  the  effect  of  God's  power 
would  be  that  he  would  appear  perverse  or  wicked. 

21.  This  feeling  of  being  helpless  in  the  hands  of  an  overmastering 
might,  which  has  no  regard  to  his  innocence,  drives  Job  on  to  a  reckless 
defiance  of  his  adversary,  and  he  will  assert  his  innocence  in  His  face 
though  it  should  cost  him  his  life.  Going  back  upon  the  words,  "if 
I  were  perfect,"  he  cries,  I  am  perfect,  I  regard  not  myself,  I  despise 
my  life.  The  phrase,  I  regard  not,  care  not  for,  myself,  is  lit.  /  know 
not  myself^  cf.  Gen.  xxxix.  6,  Ps.  i.  6.  On  the  last  words  cf.  ch.  vii.  20. 
The  speaker  feels  that  his  bold  assertion  of  his  innocence  may  provoke 
liis  adversaiy  altogether  to  destroy  him,  but  he  proclaims  his  in- 
difference. 

22.  This  verse  reads. 

It  is  all  one,  therefore  I  say, 
He  destroyeth  the  perfect  and  the  wicked, 
that  is,  indiscriminately.  Here  there  is  not  only  the  former  statement 
of  ch.  vii.  that  the  destiny  of  man  at  the  hands  of  God  is  hard  and 
crushing,  but  in  addition  an  express  denial  of  the  position  of  Bildad  that 
God's  dealing  with  men  was  discriminating.  An  emphasis  falls  on  He. 
It  is  not  quite  easy  to  decide  what  is  meant  by  it  is  all  one.  The  close 
connexion  with  v.  2 1  makes  it  most  natural  to  understand  :  it  is  all  one 
whether  I  live  or  die;  so  that  the  verses  21 — 24  are  all  one  outburst,  in 
which  the  Almighty  is  described  as  a  crushing  force  that  bears  down  on 
all  good  and  bad  without  distinction. 

23.  Further  illustration  of  this  character  of  God. 

the  scourge^  i.e.  the  plague,  as  pestilence,  famine,  war,  and  the  like. 
Is.  xxviii.  15. 

luill  laugh  at  the  trial'\  Or,  inocks  at  the  despair,  cf.  vi.  14. 

21.     The  same  illustrated  on  the  widest  scale.     Verse  23  spoke  of 


72  JOB,  IX.  [vv.  24—26. 

24  The  earth  is  given  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked: 
He  covereth  the  faces  of  the  judges  thereof; 

If  not,  where,  and  who  is  he? 

25  Now  my  days  are  swifter  than  a  post: 
They  flee  away,  they  see  no  good. 

26  They  are  passed  away  as  the  swift  ships: 

particular  calamities  afflicting  portions  of  the  earth.  At  the  despair  of 
the  innocent  under  these  God  mocl<s,  distant  and  indifferent.  Now  Job 
mal<es  the  sweeping  statement  that  the  earth  is  one  scene  of  injustice. 
The  wiclced  prevail  in  it,  it  is  given  into  their  hand,  to  rule  and  dominate 
within  it.     Comp.  ch.  xxiv. 

coz'creih  the  faces  of  the  Judges]  that  they  cannot  see  the  right,  to  give 
the  innocent  justice.  It  is  God  who  covereth  their  faces;  He  not  only 
does  not  hinder  wrong,  He  ensures  that  it  prevail  and  have  the  upper 
hand. 

if  not,  rvhere,  and  who  is  he]  Rather,  if  not  He,  who  then  Is  it — who 
does  all  this  [v.  24),  if  it  is  not  He  ?  Others  besides  Job  have  asked 
such  questions. 

In  this  passage  Job's  spirit  reaches  the  lowest  abyss  of  its  alienation 
from  God.  From  this  time  onwards  his  mind  is  calmer  and  the  moral 
idea  of  God  begins  to  reassert  its  place  in  his  thoughts.  Here  God 
appears  to  him  as  a  mere  omnipotent  power,  with  a  bias,  if  He  have  one, 
to  evil  and  cruelty,  and  he  speaks  of  Him  distantly  as  "he"  (cf.  ch. 
iii.  20).  His  conception  is  but  the  reflection  of  his  own  case,  as 
he  conceived  it,  flung  over  the  world,  though  his  conception  of  his 
own  case  was  false.  To  a  Shemitic  mind  who  had  no  conception  of 
second  causes  or  of  general  laws  or  of  a  scheme  of  providence,  but 
regarded  God  as  the  immediate  author  of  eveiy  single  occurrence,  the 
danger  must  always  have  been  imminent  of  being  driven  to  conclude 
that  God  was  the  author  of  the  misery  and  wrong  and  cruel  hardship 
under  which  men  groaned. 

In  these  verses  Job  traverses  directly  the  maxim  of  his  friends  in 
regard  to  the  discriminating  righteousness  of  God,  and  the  examples 
which  he  cites  he  might  have  used  to  demolish  their  theory.  But  he  is 
little  concerned  with  their  theory  here ;  later  he  does  use  his  examples 
to  drive  them  from  the  field.  IJut  here  he  is  occupied  with  himself, 
with  the  impossibility  of  making  his  innocence  which  he  is  conscious 
of  to  appear  and  be  admitted  ;  for,  of  course,  to  himself  and  to  all  others 
his  aillictions  were  the  testimony  of  God  to  his  guilt.  And  thus,  though 
in  the  last  verses  his  view  extends  to  the  world  in  general,  he  comes  back 
\nv.  25  to  himself. 

25.  A^ow  my  days]  Better,  and  my  days— under  the  weight  of  this 
unjust  and  oppressive  Force  {zm.  5 — 24). 

than  a  post]  i.e.  a  courier,  2  Sam.  xviii.  22,  24. 

26.  the  swift  ships]  the  ships  of  reed.  These  skiffs,  constructed  of  a 
M'oodcn  keel  and  the  rest  of  reeds,  are  the  "vessels  of  bulrushes"  of 
Is.  xviii.  2.     They  carried  but  one  or  two  persons,  and  being  light  were 


vv.  27-31-]  JOB,   IX.  73 

As  the  eagle  //la^  hasteth  to  the  prey. 
If  I  say,  1  will  forget  my  complaint, 
-   I  will  leave  off  my  heaviness,  and  comfort  myself: 
I  am  afraid  of  all  my  sorrows, 
I  know  that  thou  wilt  not  hold  me  innocent. 
^I  be  wicked. 
Why  then  labour  I  in  vain  ? 
If  I  wash  myself  with  snow  water, 
And  make  my  hands  never  so  clean; 
Yet  shalt  thou  plunge  me  in  the  ditch, 

extremely  swift.     The  ancients  were  familiar  with  them  ;  Plin.  xiii.  ii, 
ex  ipso  quidem  papyro  navigia  texunt ;  and  Lucan,  Fhars.  iv.  36, 

conseritur  bibula  Memphitis  cymba  papyro, 
(quoted  in  Gesenius,  Covi.  on  Is.  i.  p.  577).     Job  as  usual  heaps  images 
together  to  picture  out  the  brevity  of  his  life,  cf.  ch.  vii.  6  seq.     Here 
the  images  are  new,  a  runner,  a  skiff  of  reed,  an  eagle  swooping  on  his 

27.  my  complaint']  i.e.  as  always,  my  complaining,  ch.  vii.  13. 
my  heaviness]  lit.  my  faces,  my  sad  mien,  i  Sam.  i.  18. 

comfort  myself]  lit.  brighten  up,  ch.  x.  20;  Ps.  xxxix.  13.  The  word  in 
Arab,  (balija)  means  to  have  a  space  clear  of  hair  between  the  eyebrows, 
hence  to  have  an  open,  bright  countenance.  A  certain  woman  described 
the  Prophet  (Mohammed)  as  ablajiiUwajhi,  bright  in  countenance. 
Then  the  word  came  to  mean  also  to  be  bright,  of  the  dawn  or  the  day. 

28.  As  Job's  afflictions  were  the  proof  of  his  guilt  in  the  estimation 
of  God,  "  to  hold  him  innocent  "  means  to  remove  his  afflictions,  as  the 
first  clause  suggests. 

29.  if  I  be  wicked]  Rather,  I  shall  be  guilty,  that  is,  I  have  to  be, 
shall  be  held,  guilty;  God  has  resolved  so  to  consider  me.  Everywhere 
in  these  verses  guilt  and  afflictions  mean  the  same  thing,  the  one  being 
the  sign  of  the  other. 

30.  with  sno'cv  water]  This  is  according  to  one  reading  {betjte). 
According  to  another  (bemo),  with  snow.  The  latter  is  better;  snow- 
water is  turbid  and  foul,  ch.  vi.  16;  snow  is  the  symbol  of  the  most 
perfect  purity.  Is.  i.  18,  Ps.  li.  7.  Locman's  '23rd  fable  illustrates  this 
Oriental  idea  very  well:  "A  negro  stripped  himself  of  his  clothes  one  day 
and  began  rubbing  his  body  with  snow.  He  was  asked,  Why  do  you  rub 
yourself  with  snow?  He  answered.  Perhaps  I  shall  become  white. 
A  wise  man  passing  by  said  to  him.  You  fellow,  don't  fatigue  yourself, 
your  body  may  well  make  the  snow  black,  but  it  will  never  make  you 
white.     The  moral  is  &c." 

make  my  hands  never  so  clean]  lit.  cleanse  my  hands  with  lye,  or, 
potash. 

31.  An  expressive  figure  for,  to  cover  again  with  uncleanness.  The 
naked  body  (v.  30)  is  supposed  plunged  in  the  ditch,  and  the  clothes 
refuse  to  cover  so  foul  an  object. 


74 JOB,   IX. [vv.  32-35. 

And  mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me. 

2  For  he  is  not  a  man,  as  I  a»i,  that  I  should  answer  him, 
And  we  should  come  together  in  judgment. 

3  Neither  is  there  atiy  daysman  betwixt  us, 
7'hat  might  lay  his  hand  upon  us  both. 

4  Let  him  take  his  rod  away  from  me, 
And  let  not  his  fear  terrify  me: 

5  Then  would  I  speak,  and  not  fear  him ; 
But  //  is  not  so  with  me. 

32 — 34.  The  preceding  verses  described  how  unavailing  all  Job's 
eflbrts  were  to  make  out  his  innocence  in  the  face  of  the  fixed  resolution, 
of  God  to  hold  him  guilty.  Now  Job  comes  back  to  what  is  the  real 
difficulty, — God  is  not  a  man  like  himself. 

33.  any  daysma7i\  i.e.  any  umpire,  or,  arbiter.  The  word  possibly 
comes  from  the  Lat.  diem  dicere,  to  fix  a  day  for  hearing  a  cause. 

For  what  art  thou 
That  mak'st  thyself  his  dayes-man  to  prolong 
The  vengeance  prest?  Spenser,  Fae.  Q.  ii.  8.  28. 

(Wright,  Bid/e  Word-Book.) 

lay  his  hand]  i.e.  impose  his  authority  on  both,  and  do  justice 
between  the  two.  There  is  no  prophecy  of  the  incarnation  in  these 
verses.  But  there  is  a  cry  of  the  human  heart  amidst  its  troubles  that  it 
might  meet  and  see  God  as  a  man.  Then  man's  relations  to  Him  might 
be  understood  and  adjusted.  That  the  cry  is  uttered  under  a  mis- 
conception of  God  and  of  the  meaning  of  His  providence  does  not  make 
the  expression  of  man's  need  any  the  less  real  or  touching,  for  in  our 
great  darkness  here  misconceptions  of  God  prevail  so  much  over  true 
conceptions  of  Him. 

34.  The  subject  is  God,  not  the  daysman — let  God  remove  His  rod, 
His  afflictions. 

his  fear  terrify  me]  Or,  his  terror  affright  me.  The  "  terror  "  of  God 
is  His  overawing  majesty,  of.  ch.  xiii.  21,  xxxiii.  7,  the  last  passage 
with  direct  reference  to  the  present  one. 

35.  If  God  would  meet  Job  as  a  man,  removing  His  afflicting  rod  and 
laying  aside  His  awful  majesty,  Job  would  speak  out  his  innocence  and 
plead  his  own  cause  without  fear. 

but  it  is  not  so  luith  me]  Rather,  for  I  am  not  so  in  myself — in  my 
own  consciousness  1  am  not  so,  or  such,  that  I  should  fear  Him.  "In 
myself"  is  lit.  tot'M  myself  cf.  ch.x.  13,  xxiii.  14,  x.\vii.  11,  and  St  Paul's 
t>y  myself,  i  Cor.  iv.  4. 

Cn.  X.    Job's  new  Appeal  to  God,  in  the  form  of  an  effort 

TO   DISCOVER  WHAT   IN   THE   DiVINE   NATURE    IT   CAN    BE   THAT 
WILL   EXPLAIN    HIS    TERRIBLE   SUFFERINGS. 

The  chapter  attaches  itself  closely  to  the  last  words  of  ch.  ix.,  pre- 
cisely as  ch.  vii.  to  the  end  of  ch.  vi.     Ch.  ix.  ended  with  the  expression 


V.  I.]  JOB,  X.  75 

My  soul  is  weary  of  my  life;  10 

I  will  leave  my  complaint  upon  myself; 
I  will  speak  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul. 

of  the  feeling  on  Job's  part  of  his  own  innocence,  and  at  the  same  time 
of  the  feeling  that  God  had  determined  to  hold  him  guilty.  Added  to 
this  was  the  feeling  of  his  helplessness  to  make  his  innocence  appear 
against  God's  power  and  majesty.  After  a  slight  pause,  perhaps,  these 
mixed  feelings  gather  new  volume  in  his  mind  and  he  breaks  out,  per- 
plexed and  baftled,  my  send  is  %veary  of_  my  life.  Then  commences  an 
appeal  unto  God  in  w'hich  one  supposition  after  another  is  hazarded  as 
to  what  in  God's  nature  it  is  that  is  the  secret  of  Job's  sufferings,  each 
supposition  being  refuted  by  being  seen  to  be  in  contradiction  to  God's 
true  nature.  The  whole  thus  forms  a  very  impassioned  argument  with 
God  founded  on  His  own  nature. 

First,  Job  appeals  to  God  not  to  mahe  him  guilty  by  mere  arbitrary 
will,  but  if  He  have  cause  against  him  to  reveal  it,  v.  2.  Then  with  a 
strong  feeling  of  his  own  innocence  he  asks  if  it  be  a  pleasure  to  God  to 
oppress  and  reject  the  just  and  smile  upon  the  wicked?  Can  it  be  that 
God  finds  pleasure  in  this  ?  v.  3.  Then  he  wonders  if  God  have  eyes  of 
ilesh,  subject  to  illusion  and  error,  so  that  He  mistakes  the  innocent  for 
the  guilty  ;  or  if  He  be  short-lived  like  men  and  must  gratify  His  ven- 
geance on  suspicion  lest  His  victim  should  escape  Him — though  in  truth 
none  of  this  could  be,  for  He  knew  Job's  innocence,  and  none  could 
deliver  from  His  hand,  zn).  4 — 7. 

Then  the  mention  of  His  "hands"  suggests  to  Job,  and  he  brings  it 
before  God,  the  strange  contradiction  in  God's  treatment  of  him — His 
hands  fashioned  Him  once  like  a  precious  vessel  and  now  He  reduces 
him  to  dust  again  !  v.  8. 

This  contradiction  vividly  put  in  v.  8  is  then  enlarged  upon.  Job 
recalls  God's  remembrance  to  past  times,  how  He  wonderfully  began  his 
being  in  the  womb,  and  with  a  careful  and  minute  tenderness  fashioned 
all  his  parts,  forming  him  with  a  prodigal  expenditure  of  skill; 
and  then  when  a  living  man  hedged  him  aljout  with  loving  kindness 
and  guarded  his  spirit  with  constant  oversight,  vz'.  9 — 12.  The  con- 
tradiction between  this  gracious  guidance  in  the  past  and  God's  present 
treatment  of  him  utterly  baffles  Job,  and  he  leaps  to  the  desperate  con- 
clusion that  all  that  he  now  siLffers  had  always  been  designed  by  God, 
and  that  even  while  expending  His  greatest  skill  upon  him  He  had  been 
cherishing  this  deep  purpose  of  plaguing  him.  With  an  elaborate 
minuteness  Job  goes  over  this  divine  scheme,  w.  13 — 17,  and  as  he 
realizes  it  to  himself  in  detailing  it, 

He  finally  cries  out  in  despair,  why  God  ever  gave  him  life  at  all, 
vv.  18,  19?  and  begs  for  a  little  easing  of  his  pain  before  he  goes  into 
the  land  of  darkness,  vv.  20,  21  ;  concluding  with  some  terrible  touches 
concerning  that  gloomy  land,  where  the  light  is  as  darkness,  v.  12. 

1.  leave  my  complaint  upon  myself\  Rather,  give  free  coxirse  to  my 
complaint,  cf.  ch.  vii.  1 1  scq. 


■  76  JOB,  X.  [vv.  2—8. 

2  I  will  say  unto  God,  Do  not  condemn  me; 
Shew  me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me. 

3  Is  it  good  unto  thee  that  thou  shouldest  oppress, 
That  thou  shouldest  despise  the  work  of  thine  hands, 
And  shine  upon  the  counsel  of  the  wicked? 

4  Hast  thou  eyes  of  tlesh  ? 

Or  scest  thou  as  man  seeth  ? 

5  Are  thy  days  as  the  days  of  man  ? 
Arc  thy  years  as  man's  days, 

6  That  thou  inquirest  after  mine  iniquity, 
And  searches!  after  my  sin  ? 

7  Thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  wicked ; 

And  there  is  none  that  can  deliver  out  of  thine  hand. 

8  Thine  hands  have  made  me  and  fashioned  me 
Together  round  about;  yet  thou  dost  destroy  me. 

2.  Do  not  condemn  me]  Or,  ma/ce  me  not  guilty ;  that  is,  by  mere 
arbitrary  will.  Job  felt  himself  "made  guilty"  by  his  afllictions,  which 
to  all  were  proofs  that  God  held  him  guilty. 

thou  contendest  with  me]  Job's  aifhctions  were  proof  that  God  had  a 
contention  or  plea  against  him,  Job  desires  to  know  the  ground  of  it. 
Perhaps  the  afflictions  themselves  may  be  called  the  contention. 

3.  is  it  good  unto  thee]  The  usual  meaning  of  the  phrase  is.  Is  it  thy 
pleasure,  does  it  seem  right  to  thee?  Deut.  xxiii.  17.  The  words  might 
also  mean,  Is  it  becoming  thee?  Ex.  xiv.  12.  The  former  sense  suits 
the  connexion  better,  because  Job  is  groping  after  the  discovery  of  some 
characteristic  or  quality  in  God  to  account  for  his  afflictions. 

the  work  of  thine  hands]  No  doubt  both  Job  and  the  wicked  were  all  the 
work  of  God's  hands,  but  the  righteous  are  in  such  a  special  sense  the 
work  of  His  hands  that  here  they  are  so  described  in  opposition  to  the 
wicked. 

4.  Job  hazards  the  supposition  that  God  has  eyes  like  men  and  may 
see  amiss,  to  account  for  His  mistaken  treatment  of  him. 

5 — 7.  Then  he  asks  if  God's  life  be  brief  like  luiman  life,  that  by 
the  inquisition  of  chastisements  He  seeks  to  bring  Job's  sin  to  light,  lest 
His  victim  should  outlive  Him,  and  hurries  on  his  punishment  lest  some 
one  should  rescue  His  captive  from  His  hand. 

7.  thou  knowest]  Rather,  though  thou  knowest.  All  these  sup- 
positions are  vain;  for  as  to  the  first  [v.  4),  God  knew  that  Job  was 
guiltless,  and  as  to  the  other,  none  could  rescue  from  His  hand.  The 
suppositions  are  but  a  subtle  mode  of  appealing  from  God  to  God  Him- 
self, from  God's  dealing  in  providence  to  God's  inner  heart  and  being. 

8.  According  to  the  Hebrew  punctuation  this  verse  reads, 

Thine  hands  have  fashioned  me  and  made  me. 
Together  round  about ;  and  thou  dost  destroy  me  ! 


vv.  9— 14-]  JOB,  X.  n 

Remember,  I  beseech  thee,  that  thou  hast  made  me  as  9 

the  clay; 
And  wilt  thou  bring  me  into  dust  again  ? 
Hast  thou  not  poured  me  out  as  milk,  j<: 

And  cruddled  me  like  cheese  ? 

Thou  hast  clothed  me  with  skin  and  flesh,  ^ 

And  hast  fenced  me  with  bones  and  sinews. 
Thou  hast  granted  me  life  and  favour,     _  '= 

And  thy  visitation  hath  preserved  my  spirit. 
And  these  things  hast  thou  hid  in  thine  heart;  '; 

I  know  that  this  is  with  thee. 

If  I  sin,  then  thou  markest  me,  '• 

And  thou  wilt  not  acquit  me  from  mine  iniquity. 

Mention  of  God's  hand,  v.  7,  suggests  how  of  old  God's  hand  fashioned 
him  with  lavish  expenditure  of  skill  on  all  his  parts,  and  he  brings  the 
contradiction  of  God's  present  dealing  with  him  before  God — exclaiming, 
Thou  dost  destroy  me  ! 

9.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  potter  who  has  lavished  infinite  care  upon 
his  vessel,  and  now  reduces  his  work  of  elaborate  skill  and  exquisite 
ornament  into  dust  again. 

10 — 12,  These  verses  refer  to  the  formation  of  the  child  in  the  womb, 
from  conception  to  full  growth,  cf.  Ps.  cxxxix.  13 — 16. 

11.  fenced  7iie\  Rather,  -woven,  or,  knit  me. 

12.  granted  me  life  and  favour\  i.e.  granted  me  life  and  shewn  me 
loving  kindness.  The  verse  speaks  of  God's  dealing  with  Job  from  the 
time  he  was  born  and  became  a  living  man. 

thy  visitation']  i.e.  thy  providence. 

13 — 17.  The  contradiction  between  this  dealing  with  Job  in  the  womb 
and  since  his  birth  and  God's  present  treatment  of  him  is  only  to  be 
reconciled  by  the  supposition  that  God's  present  severe  treatment  of  Job 
had  been  resolved  on  trom  the  first,  and  that  His  careful  fashioning  of  him 
and  care  over  him  had  been  in  order  the  better  to  carry  out  His  pur- 
pose.   The  details  of  this  cruel  purpose  are  given  in  the  following  verses. 

13.  and  these  things  hast  thou  hid]  Better  perhaps,  but  these  things 
didst  thou  hide. 

this  is  -with  thee]  Rather,  this  was  with  thee, — was  thy  purpose,  and 
in  thy  thoughts,  cf.  ch.  ix.  35.  "These  things"  and  "this"  refer  to 
the  details  about  to  be  given  [vv.  14 — 17)  of  God's  deep  purpose  cherished 
beforehand  of  plaguing  Job. 

14.  If  I  sin,  then  thou  viarhesi]  Rather,  if  I  sinned  then  thou  wouldst 
xnaxk.  Similarly,  wouldst  not  acquit.  "To  sin"  here  appears  to 
mean,  to  be  guilty  of  trivial  sins  (ch.  vii.  20,  xiii.  26) ;  if  he  sinned  even 
venially  his  sin  would  be  held  in  remembrance  against  him  and  not 
remitted.  This  is  the  first  supposition  included  in  the  Divine  purpose 
with  Job. 


78  JOB,  X.  [vv.  15-17. 

If  I  be  wicked,  woe  unto  me; 

And  {/"I  be  righteous,  yet  will  I  not  lift  up  my  head. 

J  am  full  of  confusion;  therefore  see  thou  mine  affliction; 

For  it  increaseth.     Thou  huntest  me  as  a  fierce  lion  : 

And  again  thou  shewest  thyself  marvellous  upon  me. 

Thou  renewest  thy  witnesses  against  me, 

And  increasest  thine  indignation  upon  me ; 

Changes  and  war  are  against  me. 


15.  if  I  be  wic/ccd]  Better,  -were  I  wicked — guilty  of  <;reat  offences. 
Job  cannot  express  what  would  be  the  punisliment  of  greater  sins  were 
he  guilty  of  them,  but  indicates  its  incalculable  severity  by  the  ex- 
clamation, Woe  unto  me  !     This  is  the  second  supposition. 

ajtd  if  I  be  7-ighteous\  Rather,  and  were  I  righteous. 

yet  will  I  not  lift  tip]  Or,  yet  tmist  I  not  lift  up  my  head. 

I  am  full  of  confusion]  The  words  to  the  end  of  the  verse  must  mean, 
being  filled  with  shame  and  beholding  (or,  and  with  the  sight  of)  mine 
affliction.  Were  Job  righteous  he  must  not  lift  up  his  head  in  the 
consciousness  of  innocence  or  to  protest  against  his  being  held  guilty. 
This  is  the  third  supposition,  which  is  furtlier  illustrated  in  the  next 
verse. 

16.  This  verse  reads,  and  if  it  (i.e.  my  head)  should  lift  itself  up, 
thou  wouldst  hunt  me  as  a  tierce  lion,  and  again  shew  >.\;c.  Cf.  the 
figure  of  a  wild  beast  again,  ch.  xvi.  9.  There  is  a  touch  of  sarcasm 
in  the  words  "shew  thyself  marvellous  upon  me," — marvellous  in  the 
variety  and  nature  of  His  plagues,  and  in  plaguing  such  an  object. 

17.  thou  7-enewest']  wouldst  renew.  Similarly,  and  increase.  AH 
the  verbs  in  these  verses  {vv.  14 — 17)  are  to  be  translated  from  the 
point  of  view  of  God's  intention  cherished  beforeliand  with  regard  to 
Job.  This  intention  has,  of  course,  been  carried  out,  and  has  been 
fulfdled  in  Job's  present  condition,  and  this  condition  supplies  the 
colours  in  which  the  intention  is  painted.  God's  "witnesses"  are  His 
plagues  and  afflictions,  as  the  margin  explains,  which  testified  to  Job's 
guilt,  cf.  ch.  xvi.  8. 

cliangcs  and  war  are  against  me]  Or,  changes  attd  a  host  nuith  me. 
The  words  are  either  an  exclamation,  in  which  the  preceding  statements 
o{v.  17  are  summed  up ;  or  are  in  apposition  to  "  indignation,"  being  a 
description  of  how  this  indignation  shews  itself.  The  expression 
"changes  and  a  liost"  means  most  naturally,  an  ever-changing,  or, 
renewed  host,  the  ligure  being  that  of  an  attacking  army  which  makes 
continually  fresh  and  renewed  assaults.  This  army  is  composed  of  his 
afflictions  sent  against  him  by  God,  ch.  vi.  4,  xvi.  14,  xix.  12.  Others 
regard  the  "changes"  as  the  successive  new  attacks,  and  the  "host"  as 
the  abiding  old  army  of  afflictions,— which  seems  artificial  and  puerile. 
The  word  "change"  occurs  ch.  xiv.  14  in  the  sense  of  release,  and  the 
word  "host"  in  the  general  meaning  of  warfare,  ch.  vii.  r,  xiv.  I4.  If 
these  meanings  were  adopted  here  the  sense  would  be :  releases  and 


vv.  18—22.]  JOB,   X.  79 

Wherefore  then  hast  thou  brought  me  forth  out  of  the  18 

womb  ? 
Oh  that  I  had  given  up  the  ghost,  and  no  eye  had  seen 

me  ! 
I  should  have  been  as  though  I  had  not  been ;  19 

I  should  have  been  carried  from  the  womb  to  the  grave. 
Are  not  my  days  few?  cease  then,  20 

And  let  me  alone,  that  I  may  take  comfort  a  little. 
Before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not  return,  21 

Even  to  the  land  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death; 
A  land  of  darkness,  as  darkness  itself;  22 

And  of\\\Q.  shadow  of  death,  without  any  order, 
And  where  the  light  is  as  darkness. 

warfare  with  me,  i.  e.  brief  intervals  and  then  terrible  conflict.  Job, 
however,  usually  represents  his  afflictions  as  without  intermission. 

18,  19.  Perplexed  even  to  despair  by  this  idea  of  the  purpose  of 
God  Job  asks.  Why  God  ever  gave  him  existence  at  ail?  and  as  in 
ch.  iii.  II  seq.  wishes  he  had  never  seen  lile. 

hast  thou  brought\  didst  thou  bring. 

Oh  that  I  had  given']  I  should  have  given. 

20 — 22.  He  begs  for  a  little  easing  of  his  pain  ere  he  departs  to  the 
land  of  darkness. 

are  not  my  days  few]    The  same  argument  as  ch.  vii.  16. 

cease  then,  and  let  me  alone]  Another  reading  is,  let  him  cease  then, 
&.C.  In  the  last  case  the  speaker  turns  away  from  God  and  speaks  of 
Him.  In  the  rest  of  the  chapter,  however,  Job  everywhere  addresses 
God. 

tai-e  comfort]     The  same  word  as  ch.  ix.  27,  brighten  up. 

22.  zvithout  any  order]  There  Chaos  reigns  ;  cf.  the  beautiful  de- 
scription of  the  effect  of  light  upon  the  earth,  ch.  xxxviii.  12 — 14. 

the  light  is  as  darhitss]  The  light  in  that  region  is 

No  light,  but  rather  darkness  visible. 

Job's  three  friends,  strong  in  their  traditional  theory  and  unobservant 
of  facts  or  indifferent  to  them,  maintained  that  God's  rule  of  the  world 
was  righteous,  by  which  they  meant  that  He  rewarded  the  righteous 
with  outward  good  and  dispensed  severe  suffering  only  to  the  great 
sinner.  Job  agreed  with  them  that  this  ought  to  be  the  way  in  which 
God  governed  the  world,  and  would  be  the  way  in  which  a  just  ruler 
would  govern  it.  But  his  own  experience  and  much  that  he  could 
perceive  taking  place  in  the  world  convinced  him  that  the  world  was 
not  governed  in  this  way  in  fact.  This  feeling  not  only  disturbed  but 
threatened  to  transform  Job's  whole  idea  of  God.  His  unbearable 
sufferings  and  this  thought  of  God's  injustice  together  suggested  to  his 
mind  the  conception  of  the  supreme  Power  in  the  world  as  an  omnipo- 


So  JOB,   X.  XI. 

tent,  cmel  Force,  that  crushed  all,  good  and  evil,  alike,  and  mocked 
at  the  despair  of  the  innocent.  This  is  the  tone  of  Job's  mind  in  ch.  ix., 
in  wliich  he  does  not  address  God  but  speaks  of  Him  in  a  kind  of 
agitated  soliloquy,  as  if  fascinated  by  the  omnipotent  unmoral  spectre 
Avhich  his  imagination  has  conjured  up.  The  difference  between  Job's 
ways  of  thinking  and  those  prevailing  in  our  own  day  can  readily  be 
seen.  In  our  day  we  have  reached  an  ideal  of  God,  to  which,  if  there 
be  any  God,  he  must  correspond.  And  even  if  we  took  the  same  pessi- 
mistic view  of  the  world  as  Job  did  we  should  hesitate  to  believe  that 
the  conception  v^'as  embodied  in  anj'  Being ;  we  should  probably  con- 
clude that  there  v/as  no  God.  But  such  a  conclusion  could  not  suggest 
itself  to  an  Oriental  mind.  God's  existence  and  personality  were  things 
■which  Job  could  not  doubt.  Hence  he  had  no  help  but  invest  God 
with  the  attributes  of  evil  which  he  thought  he  saw  reflected  in  the 
world. 

It  might  seem  that  Job  is  now  on  the  high  road  to  renounce  God,  as 
Satan  had  predicted  he  would  do.  But  Job  does  not  find  renouncing 
God  quite  so  easy  a  thing.  And  he  enters  upon  a  course  in  ch.  x. 
which,  though  at  first  it  appears  to  take  him  a  step  further  in  this 
direction,  is  really  the  beginning  of  a  retreat.  He  endeavours  to  set 
before  his  mind  as  broad  a  view  of  God  as  he  is  able,  in  order  that  by 
thinking  of  all  that  he  knows  of  God  he  may  catch  the  end  of  some  clue 
to  his  calamities.  This  makes  him  realize  how  much  he  is  still  sure  of 
in  regard  to  God.  And  first,  he  cannot  doubt  that  He  is  all-knowing 
and  omnipotent  (x.  3 — 7).  But  he  goes  further.  He  cannot  help  seeing 
in  the  carefulness  and  lavish  skill  with  which  he  was  fashioned  round 
about  in  all  his  being  by  the  hands  of  God,  not  only  wisdom,  but 
a  gracious  Benevolence,  and  in  the  preservation  of  his  spirit  a  Provi- 
dence which  was  good.  And  he  dwells  on  these  things,  not  in  the  cold 
manner  of  a  philosopher  making  an  induction,  but  with  all  the  fervour 
of  a  religious  mind,  which  felt  that  it  had  fellowship  with  the  Being 
whose  goodness  it  experienced,  and  still  longed  for  this  fellowship. 
Yet  God's  present  treatment  of  him  seemed  in  contradiction  to  all  this. 
Thus  Job  balances  God  against  Himself.  Others  have  done  the  same, 
asking  the  question  whether  the  order  of  the  world  inclines  to  the  side 
of  benevolence  or  of  evil ;  and  some  have  professed  themselves  unable 
to  answer.  So  strong  is  Job's  present  sense  of  misery  that  he  con- 
cludes that  the  universal  Ruler  is  evil.  His  present  treatment  of  him 
displays  His  real  nature,  and  His  former  goodness  was  but  apparent 
(x.  13 — 17).  Thus  this  singular  method  adopted  by  Job  of  balancing 
God  against  God  seems  to  have  led  him  further  into  darkness.  Yet 
there  is  no  other  method  by  which  he  can  reach  the  light ;  and  though 
the  balance  inclines  in  one  direction  meantime,  by  and  by  it  will  incline 
in  another.     See  notes  on  chap.  xvi.  18  seq. 


Cii.  XI.    The  Speech  of  Zophar. 

In  ch.  iii.  Job  did  not  assert  his  innocence,  but  only  lamented  his 
fate.     And  it  was  possible  for  Eliphaz  tacitly  to  assume  his  guilt  with- 


vv.  I,  2.]  JOB,   XI.  8i 

Then  answered  Zophar  the  Naamathite,  and  said,  11 

Should  not  the  multitude  of  words  be  answered  ?  2 

And  should  a  man  full  of  talk,  be  justified  ? 

out  alluding  to  it,  and  admonish  him  in  regard  to  his  complaints.  Even 
in  chaps,  vi.  vii.  job  only  threw  out  here  and  there  a  spasmodic  affirma- 
tion of  his  innocence,  being  occupied  with  other  things,  and  being 
deterred  by  his  own  sense  of  rectitude  from  condescending  to  clear 
himself.  And  Bildad  could  suppose  himself  entitled  to  disregard  Job's 
passing  claims  to  innocence,  they  were  natural  but  perhaps  scarcely 
seriously  meant.  But  in  chaps,  ix.  x.  Job  had  denied  his  guilt  with 
a  vehemence  which  made  it  impossible  not  to  take  his  denial  into 
account.  Here  was  a  new  element  introduced  into  the  strife,  which  the 
three  friends  had  to  reckon  with.  It  was  plain  that  Job  seriously  be- 
lieved in  his  own  innocence.  But  it  was  equally  plain  from  his  afflictions 
that  God  regarded  him  as  guilty.  This  is  the  state  of  the  question 
as  Zophar  feels  he  has  to  face  it.  Naturally  he  does  not  range  himself 
on  Job's  side.  No,  Job  may  be  unaware  of  his  sins,  but  the  Divine 
Omniscience  knows  them  and  is  bringing  them  to  remembrance.  And 
if  God  would  appear  and  speak,  as  Job  seems  to  wish,  he  too  would  be 
made  to  know  them.  This  is  the  new  application  which  Zophar  makes 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  three  friends.  Job  is  setting  up  his  knowledge  of 
himself  against  God's  knowledge  of  him. 

The  speech  falls  into  three  short  sections  : — 

First,  w.  2 — 6,  after  some  preliminary  personalities  of  a  more  de- 
preciatory kind  than  those  used  by  Bildad  (ch.  viii.  2),  Zophar  expresses 
his  wish  that  God  would  appear  and  speak  with  Job,  as  he  had  desired 
(ch.  ix.  34),  and  reveal  to  him  the  depths  of  the  Divine  Wisdom  or 
Omniscience,  then  Job  would  be  made  to  know  his  sins. 

Second,  vv.  7 — 12,  this  thought  leads  Zophar  into  a  panegyric  of 
*he  Divine  wisdom  ;  and  this  wisdom  it  is,  which,  detecting  men's 
hidden  sin,  accounts  for  the  sudden  calamities  which  they  suffer. 

Finally,  vv.  13 — 20,  from  this  Zophar  passes  to  an  exhortation  to  Job 
to  put  away  his  evil,  with  a  promise,  if  he  will  do  so,  of  great  pros- 
perity and  unclouded  happiness  in  the  time  to  come. 

2.  Should  not  the  imdtitude  of  words]  Or,  shall  not...!  Zophar 
probably  did  not  demand  the  parole  immediately  on  Job's  ceasing  to 
speak.  A  pause  was  allowed  to  intervene,  and  the  words  with  which 
he  commences  form  his  apology  for  speaking — he  replies  to  Job  only 
lest  Job  should  fancy  that  by  his  much  speaking  he  has  shewn  himsel  f 
to  be  in  the  right,  cf.  Pro  v.  x.  19. 

should  a  tuan  full  of  talk]  Or,  shall  a  man  full  of  talk,  lit.  a  vian  of 
lips.  Zophar  insinuates  that  Job's  words  come  merely  from  his  lips ; 
they  could  not  come,  as  the  words  of  the  ancients  did,  from  the  heart, 
ch.  viii.  10;  they  were  mere  empty  phrases,  cf.  ch.  viii.  2  ;  Is.  xxxvi.  5. 
Job,  it  must  be  confessed,  had  made  a  long  and  in  some  parts  vehement 
oration. 

JOB  6 


S3  JOB,  XL  [vv.  3— 6. 

Should  thy  Hes  make  men  hold  their  peace  ? 

And  when  thou  mockest,  shall  no  man  make  //^^^  ashamed? 

For  thou  hast  said,  My  doctrine  is  pure, 

And  I  am  clean  in  thine  eyes. 

But  O  that  God  would  speak. 

And  open  his  lips  against  thee; 

And  that  he  would  shew  thee  the  secrets  of  wisdom, 

3.  Slwnhi  thy  lics\  Or,  Shall  thy  boastings,  or,  as  Reiiss,  "  ton 
verbiage."  The  reference  is  probably  to  Job's  assertions  of  his  own 
innocence,  or  perhaps  the  general  scope  of  his  speech.  The  word 
"  men  "  is  as  we  should  say  "  people  " — shall  thy  boastings  put  people 
to  silence? 

and  whcft  thou  mockest']  Or,  80  that  thou  mockest,  none  putting 
thee  to  shame.  Job's  "mockery"  or  irreligious,  sceptical  talk  is 
summed  up  in  v.  4.     This  mockery  is  called  "scorning,"  ch.  xxxiv.  6. 

4.  For  thou  hast  sau/]  Better,  and  sayest,  explaining  what  his 
mockery  consists  in. 

Jl/y  doctrine  is  piire"]  Job  had  not  used  precisely  such  words.  Zophar 
gives  what  he  understands  as  the  gist  of  his  contention. 

and  I  am  clean  in  thine  eyes]  Perhaps  rather,  I  was  clean,  when 
]ilunged  into  my  afflictions.  The  words  are  those  of  Job  addressed  to 
God,  which  Zophar  recalls,  cf.  ch.  ix.  21,  x.  7.  It  is  probable  that  this 
clause  explains  what  Zophar  means  by  the  preceding  clause,  "my 
doctrine  is  pure."  Job's  "doctrine,"  which  Zophar  considers  an  ex- 
ample of  "mockery,"  is  not  his  general  principles,  but  this  particular 
point,  that  God  afflicts  a  man  whom  He  knows  to  be  righteous.  Zophar 
quite  justly  discovers  here  a  novel  doctrine  to  which  he  certainly  had 
not  been  accustomed.  But  connected  with  this  particular  assertion  of 
Job's  were  his  views  on  human  destiny  in  general,  ch.  vii.  i,  and  on  the 
character  of  God's  government,  ch.  ix.  i — 23.  The  two  preceding 
speakers  had  assumed  that  Job's  principles  were  identical  with  their 
own,  and  anticipated  that  a  few  good  advices  in  the  line  of  these  prin- 
ciples would  bring  the  man  to  a  right  mind.  Zophar  begins  to  surmise 
that  they  have  a  more  obstinate  disease  to  cure  than  they  had  looked 
for,  and  that  Job's  principles,  instead  of  being  identical  with  theirs,  cut 
clean  athwart  them.  This  discovery  accounts  for  the  rather  unworthy 
tone  of  his  language.  His  irritation  was  natural.  He  had  never  met 
a  man  with  such  ideas  as  those  of  Job  before,  and  he  is  driven  out  of 
patience  and  decorum  by  his  new  theories.  Elihu  is  even  more  shocked, 
and  thinks  that  such  another  as  Job  does  not  exist,  ch.  xxxiv.  6. 

5.  Job  had  expressed  his  readiness  to  meet  God  and  plead  his  cause 
before  Him.ch.  ix.  25  ;  Zophar,  with  reference  to  this,  exclaims.  Would 
that  God  would  speak  !  The  result  would  be  difTerent  from  what  Job 
anticipated,  his  guilt  would  be  laid  before  him. 

6.  shezv  thee  the  secrets  of  wisdom]  IVisdom  here  is  God's  omni- 
science. Its  secrets  are  not  the  things  known  to  it,  such,  for  example, 
as  Job's  sins,  but  its  own  profound  depths  and  insight. 


xn.r.  7,  8.]  JOB,  XI. _83 

That  ^/ley  are  double  to  that  which  is. 

Know  therefore  that  God  exacteth  of  thee  less  than  thine 

iniquity  deserveth. 
Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  _  7 

Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection? 
//  is  as  high  as  heaven;  what  canst  thou  do  ?  3 

that  they  are  double  to  that  which  is]  Or,  that  it  (wisdom)  is  double 
in  (true)  tinderstandlng.  By  double  or  twofold  in  regard  to  true  under- 
standing is  not  meant,  double  of  man's  wisdom  or  that  of  the  creature  in 
general,  but  rather,  twofold  what  Job  conceived  of  it,  in  other  words, 
that,  in  regard  to  its  true  insight,  it  far  exceeded  all  conception.  _  This 
translation  presents  the  smallest  deviation  from  the  A.V.  and  is  simple. 
It  is  an  objection  to  it  that  it  makes  "understanding"  a  quality  of 
"wisdom,"  while  the  former  word  (on  which  see  note  on  ch.v.  12) 
would  more  naturally  be  but  another  name  for  the  "wisdom,"  as  it  is  in 
Job's  reply  to  all  this,  ch.  xii.  16,  cf.  v.  13.  Hence  others  assume  that 
the  word  ^w^/^/aT means  "many  folds,"  translating:  that  folds,  compli- 
cations, belong  to  (true)  understanding, — that  is,  that  (God's)  under- 
standing is  manifold. 

Know  therefore]  i.e.  then  shouldst  thou  know.  The  imperative  is  a 
more  vivid  way  of  expressing  the  future,  see  on  ch.  v.  i. 

exacteth  of  thee  less,  &c.]  This  gives  the  general  sense,  though  the 
translation  seems  to  rest  both  on  a  false  etymology  and  a  false  idea  of 
construction.  Literally  the  words  mean  :  God  bringeih  into  forgetfuhiess 
for  thee  some  of  thy  guilt,  that  is,  remembereth  not  against  thee  all  thy 
guilt.  Others  (e.g.  Hitz.) :  God  causeth  thee  to  forget  thy  guilt.  The 
general  meaning  is,  that  if  God  would  appear  and  speak  and  reveal  His 
knowledge  of  Job's  sins.  Job  would  be  brought  to  know  that  he  was 
guilty — perhaps  even  that  his  afflictions  were  far  below  his  guilt.  This 
is  a  harder  word  than  has  yet  been  uttered  against  Job. 

7 — 12.  Panegyric  on  the  Divine  Wisdom  or  Omniscience.  This 
wisdom  cannot  be  fathomed  by  man  [v.  7).  It  fills  all  things  [vv.  8,  9). 
And  this  explains  the  sudden  calamities  that  befall  men,  for  God  per- 
ceives their  hidden  wickedness  {vv.  10,  11).  But  man  is  of  no  under- 
standing [v.  12). 

7.  The  verse  means,  Canst  thou  fathom  or  conceive  God  ?  The 
special  side  of  God's  being,  which  Zophar  declares  to  be  unfathomable, 
is  His  wisdom  or  omniscience.  This  is  the  point  in  question,  for  it  is 
this  which  discovers  Job's  heart  and  his  sins;  and  Zophar  desires  to  put 
this  omniscience  before  Job  to  bring  him  to  take  a  right  place  before  it, 
just  as  Eliphaz  brought  the  holiness  of  God  before  him.  Literally  the 
verse  reads :  Canst  thou  find  the  deeps  of  (or,  that  which  has  to  be 
searched  out  in)  God,  canst  thou  reach  to  the  perfection  (the  outmost, 
the  ground  of  the  nature)  of  the  Almighty  ?     Cf.  ch.  xxvi.  10,  xxviii.  3. 

8.  His  wisdom  is  immeasurable,  unfathomable.  The  words  are  an 
exclamation  :  heights  of  heaven  !  what  canst  thou  do  ? — thou  art  im- 
potent before  it,  to  scale  it  or  reach  it. 


84  JOB,  XI.  [vv.  9—12. 

Deeper  than  hell;  what  canst  thou  know? 

The  measure  thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth, 

And  broader  than  the  sea. 

If  he  cut  off,  and  shut  up,  or  gather  together. 

Then  who  can  hinder  him  ? 

For  he  knoweth  vain  men : 

He  seeth  wickedness  also;  will  he  not  then  consider  it? 

For  vain  man  would  be  wise, 

Though  man  be  born  like  a  wild  ass's  colt. 

deeper  than  hell'\  i.e.  than  Shcol,  the  place  of  the  dead — canst  thou 
fathom  it,  penetrate  with  tliy  knowledge  to  it  ? 

10.  This  omniscience  in  its  operation  among  sinful  men. 

Jf  he  cut  off'\  if  he  pass  by.  Zophar  uses  Job's  own  word  and  illus- 
tration, ch.  ix.  1 1  (passeth  on). 

and  shut  up]  i.e.  arrest,  and  put  in  ward. 

or  gather  together]  i.e.  call  an  assembly  for  judgment,  which  took 
place  in  full  concourse  of  the  people;  cf.  the  graphic  picture  Prov.  v. 
3  seq.,  esp.  v.  14. 

who  can  hinder  hini]  Or,  turn  him  back,  again  Job's  own  words, 
ch.  ix.  12. 

11.  Job  had  used  these  words  to  describe  God  as  an  irresistible, 
unaccountable  force ;  Zophar  indicates  what  account  is  to  be  given  of 
God's  actions — He  knoweth  vain  (wicked,  Ps.  xxvi.  4)  men.  His 
action  is  the  reflexion  of  His  omniscient  insight. 

will  he  not  then  consider  it]  Rather,  without  considering  it.  The 
words  are  closely  connected  with  the  preceding  :  he  seeth  wickedness 
also,  without  needing  to  consider  it,  that  is,  with  a  knowledge  imme- 
diate and  requiring  no  efl'ort,  cf.  ch.  xxxiv.  23,  notes.  So  already  Ibn 
Ezra.  Another  meaning  is  possible  :  and  that  which  they  (men)  con- 
sider not.     But  this  is  a  useless  repetition. 

12.  Having  finished  his  brilliant  jiicture  of  God's  omniscient  wisdom, 
Zophar  adds  further  brilliancy  to  it  by  contrasting  it  with  the  brutish- 
ness  of  man.     The  verse  perhaps  should  read. 

But  an  empty  man  will  become  wise 
When  a  wild  ass  colt  is  born  a  man, 

the  one  thing  will  happen  when  the  other  happens.  The  verse  seems  to 
be  in  the  shape  of  a  proverb,  and  is  full  of  alliterations  which  cannot  be 
reproduced  in  translation.  The  word  "empty"  is  properly  "hollow;" 
and  "to  become  wise"  is  literally  "to  get  heart,'  i.e.  understanding 
or  mind  (ch.  ix.  4,  xii.  3).  The  last  phrase  was  understood  by  Gese- 
nius  to  mean  "to  be  without  heart  "  or  understanding.  Following  this 
view,  many  translate  :  But  empty  man  is  void  of  understanding,  yea, 
man  is  born  (like)  a  wild  ass  colt.  Gesenius  objects  to  the  other  that 
it  offends  against  dignity.  The  verse  has  been  interpreted  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways. 

13 — 20.     Zophar  turns  to  Job  in  exhortation  and  promise. 


vv.  13-18.]  JOB,  XI.  85 

If  thou  prepare  thine  heart, 

And  stretch  out  thine  hands  toward  huu; 

If  iniquity  be  in  thine  hand,  put  it  far  away, 

And  let  not  wickedness  dwell  in  thy  tabernacles. 

For  then  shalt  thou  lift  up  thy  face  without  spot; 

Yea,  thou  shalt  be  steadfast,  and  shalt  not  fear. 

Because  thou  shalt  forget  thy  misery, 

Ajid  remember  it  as  waters  that  pass  away; 

And  thine  age  shall  be  clearer  than  the  noonday ; 

Thou  shalt  shine  forth,  thou  shalt  be  as  the  morning. 

And  thou  shalt  be  secure,  because  there  is  hope; 

13.  If  thou  prepare  thine  hcart\  Thou  is  emphatic,  and  meant  by 
the  speaker  to  place  Job  in  a  different  class  from  the  "hollow  man" 
described  in  v.  12.  Job  hardly  accepted  the  good  intention,  cf.  ch.  xii. 
3.  "To  prepare  the  heart  "  may  mean,  to  bring  it  into  a  condition  of 
right  thought  and  feeling  towards  God.  .  The  word  might  also  mean 
"  tix  thy  heart,"  let  it  no  more  be  driven  to  and  fro  amidst  false  feelings 
and  views,  Pss.  x.  17,  li.  10,  Ivii.  7,  Ixxviii.  37. 

atid  stretch  out']  In  prayer,  and  seeking  help,  Ex,  ix.  29  ;  Is.  i.  15; 
cf.  Job  viii.  5. 

14.  The  reformation  which  Zophar  impresses  on  Job  has  several 
steps :  first,  the  preparation  of  his  heart ;  then,  prayer  unto  God  ;  then, 
the  putting  away  of  his  personal  sins  ;  and  finally,  those  of  his  home. 
These  are  enumerated,  one  after  another,  but  nothing  lies  in  the  order 
of  enumeration. 

15.  for  then  shalt  thou]  Or,  surely  then  shalt  thou,  ch.  viii. 
6. 

lift  tip  thy  face  without  spot]  The  word  lift  up  is  selected  to  meet  Job's 
complaint  that  he  must  not  lift  up  his  head,  ch.  x.  15  5  and  the  words 
"without  spot"  meet  his  words  "filled  with  shame."  Then  he  shall 
lift  up  his  face  in  conscious  innocence  and  disfigured  with  no  signs  of 
God's  anger  on  account  of  his  guilt. 

be  steadfast,  and  shalt  not  fear]  Said  in  reference  to  Job's  fluctuating 
feelings  and  condition  as  he  describes  them,  ch.  ix.  27 — 28. 

16.  because  thou  shalt  forget]  Or,  for  tliou  slialt  forget  trouble. 
that  pass  a%oay]  tbat  are  passed  away. 

17.  and  thine  age]  Or,  as  we  should  say,  and  life,  Ps.  xvii.  14, 
xxxix.  5. 

thou  shalt  shine  forth]  Rather,  if  there  be  darkness,  it  shall  be  as 
the  morning.  Even  should  temporary  darkness  occur  it  will  not  be 
utter,  but  light  like  the  morning.  This  seems  said  in  opposition  to 
Job's  mournful  words,  ch.x.  22,  "where  the  light  is  as  darkness."  Tlie 
present  words  might  also  mean  that  the  darkness  shall  be  not  a  con- 
tinual obscurity  but  one  which  a  morning  comes  to  dispel. 

18.  because  there  is  hope]  In  opposition  to  Job's  desponding  pictures 
of  his  liie,  ch.  vii.  6  seq.,  ix.  25  seq.,  x.  20  seq. 


86  JOB,  XI.  [vv.  19,  20. 

Yea,  thou  shale  dig  about  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  thy 
rest  in  safety. 
I      Also  thou  shalt  lie  down,  and  none  shall  make  thee  afraid ; 

Yea,  many  shall  make  suit  unto  thee. 
>      But  the  eyes  of  the  wicked  shall  fail, 

And  they  shall  not  escape, 

And  their  hope  shall  be  as  the  giving  up  of  the  ghost. 

i/iou  shalt  dig  about  thee]  Rather,  thou  shalt  look,  or  search,  about 
thee,  cf.  ch.  xxxix.  29 ;  Deut.  i.  22.  Job,  as  one  naturally  does  before 
retiring  to  rest,  will  look  around  to  see  if  there  be  any  danger  near  or 
cause  of  disquietude,  and  seeing  none  will  take  his  rest  in  safety. 

19.  juake  suit  unto  thee]  The  phrase  means  literally :  shall  stroke  thy 
face,  i.e.  supplicate  or  flatter  thee.     Prov.  xix.  6  ;  Ps.  xlv.  12. 

The  picture  which  Zophar  draws  of  Job's  restored  prosperity  is 
beautiful,  (i)  Trouble  shall  be  forgotten,  or  remembered  as  waters 
that  are  passed  away ;  and  the  memory  of  a  past  trouble  that  cannot 
recur  but  makes  the  present  happiness  greater  {v.  16).  (2)  And  the 
future  shall  rise  brighter  than  noon,  or,  it  may  be,  shall  increase 
towards  brightness  more  than  the  noon  does,  shewing  an  ever-growing 
clearness  ;  and  if  it  be  at  any  time  clouded,  as  in  any  life  however  clear 
there  are  clouds,  the  darkness  shall  only  be  a  lesser  light  like  that  of 
the  morning ;  or  as  the  words  may  mean,  the  darkness  shall  only  be 
like  the  fixed  changes  of  nature  and  shall  give  place  like  the  night  to  a 
fair  and  hopeful  morning  {v.  17).  {3)  Thus  restored  to  the  fixed  order 
of  a  life  with  God  he  shall  be  trustful  because  there  is  hope,  and  he 
shall  look  about,  surveying  all  things,  and  finding  nothing  to  dread 
shall  lie  down  in  confidence  [v.  18) ;  and  when  lain  down  he  shall  rest 
peacefully.  (4)  And  his  security  and  prosperity  shall  draw  to  him  the 
homage  of  many,  who  (as  before)  shall  seek  liis  favour  (-'.  19). 

20.  Zophar  concludes  by  setting  in  opposition  to  this  picture  another, 
the  fate  of  the  wicked. 

their  hope  shall  be  as  the  giving]  Rather,  shall  be  the  g^ivlng  up  of 
the  ghost ;  death  is  what  they  have  to  look  for.  Perhaps  Zophar  adds 
these  words  by  way  of  warning  to  Job.  Eliphaz  allowed  no  streak  of 
darkness  to  cloud  the  brightness  of  the  prospect  he  anticipated  for  Job, 
ch.  v.  19 — 26 ;  Bildad  spoke  of  perishing,  hut  it  was  of  Job's  enemies, 
ch.  viii.  22  ;  Zophar  throws  out  his  warning  more  generally,  and  Job 
may  accept  it  if  it  fits  him. 

The  problems  that  trouble  us  are  not  new.  These  ancient  dis- 
putants graze  at  least  the  edges  of  most  of  them.  Under  Zophar's 
speech  lies  the  question.  If  the  affirmations  of  a  man's  conscience  or  of 
his  consciousness  be  contradicted  by  the  affirmations  of  God,  what  does 
it  become  a  man  to  do?  Job's  conscience  declared  that  he  had  not 
been  guilty  of  sins,  while  God  by  his  afflictions  was  clearly  intimating 
that  he  had. — It  may  be  safely  concluded  that  a  real  contradiction  of 
this  kind  will  never  occur.     Both  Zophar  and  Job  were  under  a  false 


JOB,  XI.   XII.-XIV.  S; 

impression  when  they  supposed  that  God  by  His  affliction  of  Job  was 
affirming  his  guilt.  They  put  a  wrong  meaning  on  his  afflictions. 
Zophar,  however,  thought  that  a  man  must  bow  to  God.  But  as  Job's 
consciousness  spoke  to  a  fact,  which  was  to  him  indubitable,  he  felt 
that  he  was  unable  to  submit.  The  history  of  Job  teaches  us  that  the 
wise  course  in  such  circumstances  is  to  raise  the  prior  question.  Is  this 
supposed  affirmation  of  God  really  His  affirmation  ?  It  may  be  that  we 
are  putting  a  wrong  construction  on  His  words  or  providence  And  as 
such  supposed  contradictions  will  not  usually  be,  as  in  Job's  case,  in 
regard  to  simple  facts  but  to  moral  judgments  and  the  like,  there  is 
much  room  always  to  raise  the  prior  question  also  on  the  other  side,  Is 
this  affirmation  of  conscience,  which  seems  opposed  to  the  intimations 
of  God,  a  true  affirmation  of  conscience?  the  affirmation  of  an  enlight- 
ened, universal  conscience  ?  As  none  of  us,  unfortunately,  is  in  pos- 
session of  this  universal  conscience  of  mankind,  but  only  of  our  own 
particular  one,  which  must,  however,  be  our  guide,  perplexities  may 
occasionally  arise  in  our  actual  religious  experience. 

Ch.  XII.— XIV.    Job's  Reply  to  Zophar. 

The  distinctive  point  in  Zophar's  discourse  was  his  prominently  ad- 
ducing the  omniscient  wisdom  of  God  against  Job,  before  the  judgments 
of  which,  as  seen  in  the  providences  that  befall  men,  anything  called 
individual  conscience  ought  to  be  silent.  This  led  Zophar  into  an  eulogy 
of  God's  wisdom,  the  greatness  of  which  was  to  him  the  explanation 
of  the  sudden  and  destructive  interferences  of  God  among  men  (ch.  xi. 
lo,  ii).  And  in  contrast  with  this  insight  of  God  Zophar  spoke  of 
men  as  "hollow." 

All  this  stung  Job  deeply,  for  it  implied  not  only  ignorance  of  himself 
(ch.  xi.  6),  but  ignorance  of  God,  and  he  felt  keenly  the  assumption 
0%-er  him  (a  thing  only  ventured  on  because  he  was  afflicted,  ch.  xii.  4,  5) 
of  these  men,  who  thought  themselves  entitled  to  give  him  instructions 
regarding  the  wisdom  and  the  power  of  God  (ch.  xii.  3,_xiii.  2). 
Hence  there  runs  through  his  reply  a  continual  sarcasm  against  their 
assumed  superiority,  mixed  with  pathetic  references  to  the  lowness  into 
which  he  had  sunk — he  whose  past  life  had  been  one  of  close  fellowship 
with  God,  ch.  xii.  4 — when  such  men  took  it  on  them  to  give  him 
lessons;  and  he  is  never  weary  ringing  changes  on  the  "wisdom"  which 
was  the  key-note  of  Zophar's  unfortunate  oration — No  doubt !  wisdom 
will  die  with  you  (ch.xii.  2);  "I  have  understanding  as  well  as  you...  who 
knoweth  not  such  things  as  these  ?"  (ch.  xii.  3) ;  "  With  God  is  wisdom  " 
(ch.  xii.  13);  and,  with  a  half-concealed  reference  to  the  proverb,  he 
wishes  at  last  that  they  would  hold  their  tongue  and  it  should  be  their 
"wisdom"  (ch.  xiii.  5).  In  this  speech  Job  for  the  first  time  really 
turns  upon  his  friends  in  earnest,  and  he  reads  them  some  severe  lessons 
not  only  on  the  mental  superficiality  with  which  they  took  in  hand  his 
problem,  which  they  thought  to  unravel  by  citing  a  few  old  saws  and 
"maxims  of  ashes"  (ch.  xiii.  12),  but  also  on  the  moral  onesidedness 
which  they  shewed.  They  took  the  part  of  God  against  him  not  as  true 
men  who  had  really  planted  their  feet  on  the  bottom  of  things  as  the 


88  JOB,  XII. 

world  presented  them,  but  from  a  shallow  religiosity  which  was  but 
partiality  for  God ;  and,  as  they  had  invoked  the  rectitude  and  the  om- 
niscience of  the  Almighty  against  him,  he  sists  them  before  the  same 
bar,  reminding  them  that  the  God  before  whom  they  shall  have  to 
answer  is  God  of  the  universe,  according  to  the  facts  which  the  universe 
reveals,  and  bidding  them  fear  I  lis  resentment  and  chastisement  for  their 
very  pleading  in  His  behalf,  because  that  pleading  was  made  ignorantly 
and  not  in  true  sincerity  (ch.  xiii.  4 — 12,  cf.  the  result,  ch.  xlii.  7  st't/.). 

The  speech  falls  into  three  large  sections,  which  coincide  generally 
with  the  three  chapters,  although  the  limits  between  the  second  and 
third  are  not  very  well  marked. 

First,  ch.  xii.  Job  resents  the  assumed  superiority  of  his  three  friends 
in  regard  to  knowledge  of  the  operation  of  the  Divine  power  and 
wisdom  in  the  world,  and  shews  by  a  lofty  delineation  of  them  that  he 
is  a  far  greater  master  in  this  knowledge  than  they  are. 

Second,  ch.  xiii.  1 — 22.  But  this  Divine  wisdom  and  power  do  not, 
as  the  friends  imagine,  explain  his  calamities.  On  the  contrary,  it  is 
against  this  very  action  of  God  in  the  world  that  he  desires  to  appeal  to 
God.  And  their  defence  of  it  is  false,  and  from  no  better  reason  than 
out  of  servility  to  God.  He  desires  to  meet  God  on  the  question  of  his 
innocence,  and  challenges  Him  to  appear  and  answer  him. 

Third,  ch.  xiii.  23 — xiv.  The  challenge  remains  unanswered.  And 
again,  as  before,  the  thought  of  his  sad  condition  and  of  the  riddles  in 
which  he  is  involved  gets  the  better  of  Job,  and  he  sinks  into  a  sorrow- 
ful wail  over  the  wretchedness  of  man,  his  weakness  and  God's  rigid 
treatment  of  him,  and  the  complete  extinction  of  his  life  in  death.  But 
just  when  the  folds  of  darkness  which  the  mysteries  and  the  pathos  of 
human  life  wrap  around  him  are  thickest,  there  suddenly  arises  in  his 
mind,  like  a  star  struggling  through  the  clouds,  the  surprising  thought 
that  after  this  life  there  might  be  another,  and  that  God,  when  His 
wrath  is  overpast,  might  call  His  creature  back  to  Him  again  in  friendship. 
The  star  comes  out  but  for  a  moment,  but  Job  has  once  seen  it,  and  on 
every  occasion  when  it  appears  again  it  shines  with  greater  brilliancy. 

Ch.  XH.  In  reply  to  Zophar's  Appeal  to  the  Divine  Wis- 
dom AND  Power,  Jou  shews  by  a  brilliant  dulineation 
OF  them  that  he  is  a  greater  master  in  the  know- 
ledge OF  these  than  his  friends  are. 

First,  vv.  I — 6.  Job  gives  sarcastic  expression  to  his  admiration  of 
the  wisdom  of  his  friends  {v.  2).  Then,  passing  into  earnestness,  he 
laments  the  depth  to  which  he  has  sunk  when  men  take  it  on  them  to 
inflict  such  common  places  on  him  about  God's  wisdom  and  power — 
on  him  whose  life  had  been  lived  with  God.  This  was  how  men 
treated  one,  though  righteous,  when  afflictions  befell  him  ;  the  prosper- 
ous wicked  man  was  differently  regarded  (vv.  4 — 6). 

Second,  vv.  7 — 25.  Coming  to  the  matter  itself,  the  display  of  God's 
])ower  and  wisdom  in  the  world,  especially  in  the  world  of  life,  with 
its  sufferings,  the  knowledge  of  which  the  friends  boasted  of  as  exclu- 
sively their  own  (cf.  shew  thee  the  secrets  of  wisdom,  ch.  xi.  6),  Job 


vv.  1—4.]  JOB,   XII.  89 

And  Job  answered  and  said,  12 

No  doubt  but  ye  are  the  people,  2 

And  wisdom  shall  die  with  you. 

But  I  have  understanding  as  well  as  you;  3 

I  a7n  not  inferior  to  you : 
Yea,  who  knoweth  not  such  things  as  these  ? 
I  am  as  one  mocked  of  his  neighbour,  4 

Who  calleth  upon  God,  and  he  answereth  him : 
The  just  upright  man  is  laughed  to  scorn. 

(i)  intimates  that  this  knowledge  is  so  common  that  anyone  may 
learn  it  who  opens  his  eyes  and  looks  upon  the  life  and  fates  of  the 
lower  creatures — all  shew  that  God  moves  among  them  with  an  abso- 
lute power  and  sway  {zrj.  7 — 10). 

(2)  The  same  may  be  learned  by  anyone  who  has  ears  to  hear  what 
aged  men  tell  of  God's  ways  in  the  world.  Thus  Job  introduces  a 
brilliant  picture  (in  which  much  history  both  of  catastrophes  in  nature 
and  revolutions  among  men  is  condensed)  of  the  uncontrolled  move- 
ment of  God  in  the  affairs  of  the  world : — the  natural  world  {vv.  14, 
15);  those  highest  in  rank  among  men,  the  wise,  the  rulers,  the 
eloquent  {vv.  16  —  22);  and  nations  {vv.  23 — 25).  Zophar  had  sought 
to  shew  that  a  moral  purpose  directed  the  action  of  God's  wisdom  and 
might — "he  knows  wicked  men"  (ch.  xi.  11);  Job,  on  the  other  hand, 
brings  out  their  immeasurable  greatness  and  the  absoluteness  with 
which  they  dominate  among  men,  and  how  they  confound  with  an 
ironical  destructiveness  everything  human  that  bears  any  likeness  to 
themselves,  "  making  fools  "  of  judges,  and  "pouring  contempt"  upon 
princes  {vv.  17,  21). 

2.  ye  are  the  people']  Sarcastic  admiration  of  the  wisdom  of  his  three 
friends,  of.  ch.  xi.  6.  "The  people"  does  not  seem  to  mean  the  right 
people,  persons  worthy  of  the  name  of  "  people  ;"  rather  "  the  people  " 
is  used  as  three  other  persons,  well  known  to  history,  employed  it, 
when  they  said,  "We,  the  people  of  England."  It  means  the  whole 
people  ;  hence  Job  adds,  "  Wisdom  will  die  with  you." 

3.  But  I  have  understaitding]  Rather,  I  also  have  imderstanding, 
lit.  heart;  cf.  on  ch.  xi.  12,  to  the  depreciating  words  of  which  Job  refers. 

who  knoweth  not  such  things  as  these]  lit.  with  7vhom  are  not  such 
things  as  these?  i.e.  such  knowledge  as  this.  The  reference  is  to 
Zophar's  exhibition  of  the  Divine  wisdom  and  might,  ch.  xi.  7 — 12. 

4.  5.  Job  laments  how  low  he  had  fallen  when  men  thought  to  in- 
struct him,  a  man  of  God,  with  such  primary  truths  regarding  God's 
operation  in  the  world.  Yet  it  was  but  an  illustration  of  the  general 
truth — righteousness  when  unfortunate  was  held  in  contempt.  The 
verses  read, 

4.      I  am  to  be  one  that  is  a  laughing-stock  to  his  friends, 
I,  who  called  on  God  and  he  answered  me : 
A  laughing-stock  the  just  and  perfect  man  ! 


90  JOB,  XII.  [vv.  5—8. 

He  that  is  ready  to  slip  with  his  feet 

Is  as  a  lamp  despised  in  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at 

ease. 
The  tabernacles  of  robbers  prosper, 
And  they  that  provoke  God  are  secure; 
Into  whose  hand  God  bringeth  abundantly. 
But  ask  now  the  beasts,  and  they  shall  teach  thee; 
And  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  they  shall  tell  thee : 
!      Or  speak  to  the  earth,  and  it  shall  teach  thee : 
And  the  fishes  of  the  sea  shall  declare  unto  thee. 

5.  There  is  contempt  for  misfortune  in  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at 

ease, 
It  awaiteth  them  who  are  slipping  with  their  foot. 
Zophar's  references  for  Job's  advantage  to  the  Divine  wisdom  and 
might  impHed  that  Job  was  ignorant  of  all  this,  and  took  no  account  of 
Job's  past  life  spent  in  the  fellowship  of  God  and  in  meditation  on  His 
ways.  It  is  to  this  last  that  Job  refers  when  he  says :  I  who  called  on 
God,  <S;c.  He  feels  keenly  the  pass  he  has  come  to  when  men  inculcate 
such   commonplaces  upon  him  ;   this  feeling  he  expresses  by  saying, 

I  am  to  be,  I  must  be,  or  have  to  be  a  laughing-stock. 

Verse  5  means.  But  such  is  th«  treatment  which  those  who  fall  into 
misfortune,  even  though  they  be  righteous  men,  receive  at  the  hands  of 
those  that  are  at  ease  and  prosperous.  The  word  rendered  "misfor- 
tune" or  calamity  occurs  again,  ch.  xxx.  24,  xxxi.  29,  Prov.  xxiv.  22. 
On  the  slipping  of  the  foot,  cf.  Ps.  xxxviii,  16,  Ixxiii.  2. 

6.  The  other  side  of  the  picture,  the  peace  of  the  wicked. 

into  whose  hand  God  bringeth  abundantly']  The  words  might  also 
mean  :  they  who  carry  {their}  god  in  their  hand,  the  idea  being  that 
their  god  is  their  own  strong  hand  or  the  weapon  in  it ;  cf  what  the 
prophet  says  of  the  Chaldeans,  This  their  power  is  their  god,  Hab.  i. 

II  with  V.  16.  The  commentators  quote  from  Vergil  the  words  of  the 
contemptor  deorum,  dextra  mihi  dens,  and  Ilitzig  refers  to  Ammianus, 
17.  12,  who  says  of  some  Scythian  tribes,  miicrones  pro  mwiinibiis 
colunt.  In  V.  5  Job  said  that  the  afllicted  righteous  were  despised ;  the 
strict  antithesis  would  have  been  that  the  prosperous  wicked  received 
respect ;  but  Job,  with  the  keen  eye  which  he  has  at  present  for  the 
anomalies  of  the  Divine  government,  attributes  the  peace  of  the  wicked 
to  God,  though  they  recognise  no  God  but  their  own  strong  arm. 
Cf  ch.  V.  24. 

7 — 10.  Such  knowledge  as  the  friends  possessed  of  God's  wisdom 
and  power  and  their  action  in  the  world  could  be  learned  by  any  one 
who  had  eyes  to  observe  the  life  and  fate  of  the  lower  creatures.  In 
all  may  be  seen  God's  absolute  might  and  sway  prevailing  {v.  10). 

8.  speak  to  the  earth]  The  "  earth"  here  includes  all  the  forms  of 
lower  life  with  which  it  teems. 

9.  in  all  these]    Or,  by  all  these,  Gen.  xv.  8. 


vv.  9— T4.]  JOB,  Xir.  91 

Who  knoweth  not  in  all  these 

That  the  hand  of  the  Lord  hath  wrought  this  ? 

In  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  living  thing, 

And  the  breath  of  all  mankind. 

Doth  not  the  ear  try  words  ? 

And  the  mouth  taste  his  meat  ? 

With  the  ancient  is  wisdom; 

And  in  length  of  days  understanding. 

With  him  is  wisdom  and  strength, 

He  hath  counsel  and  understanding. 

Behold,  he  breaketh  down,  and  it  cannot  be  built  again:    ■. 

hath  wrought  this]  Rather,  doeth  this,  viz.  as  Zophar  had  taught 
and  as  v.  10  explains,  rules  with  an  absolute  sway  in  all  the  world  of 
life  upon  the  earth,  men  and  creatures.  We  should  say  in  English 
here,  acts  thus  (as  Zophar  had  said),  cf.  Is.  xli.  20,  though  the  point 
prominently  referred  to  is  the  infliction  of  suffering. 

10.  This  verse  rounds  off  the  statement  in  v.  7  seq.  that  God  moves 
among  the  living  creatures  upon  the  earth,  dispensing  life  and  death,  in 
a  way  absolute  and  uncontrolled. 

11 — 25.  Verses  7 — 10  referred  to  what  one  could  see  of  God's  power 
and  wisdom  in  the  world,  these  verses  refer  to  what  one  might  learn  of 
them  by  hearing  ancient  men  discourse  regarding  them.  In  ch.  xiii.  i, 
where  Job  looks  back  upon  this  chapter,  he  refers  to  both  channels  of 
knowledge,  his  eye  and  his  ear.  He  does  not  despise  knowledge 
learned  from  the  observation  of  others  when  it  is  pertinent,  cf.  ch.  xxi. 
29.  And  it  is  obvious  that  the  description  in  vv.  13 — 25  contains  many 
allusions  to  catastrophes,  both  in  nature  and  in  human  society,  which 
Job  could  not  have  seen  himself,  but  must  have  learned  from  tradition. 

11.  a7id  the  fnotith  taste  his  meat]  Rather,  as  tlie  mouth  (lit.  palate) 
tasteth  Ms  meat.  Does  not  the  understanding  ear  discern  and  appro- 
priate sound  knowledge,  as  the  palate  discerns  and  relishes  wholesome 
food  ?  The  ear  (as  well  as  the  eye,  vv.  7 — 10)  is  a  channel  of  sound 
information. 

12.  As  z'.  II  indicated  the  instrument,  the  ear,  through  which  one 
learned,  this  verse  refers  to  the  source  from  which  the  information  was 
to  be  obtained,  viz.  the  ancients,  that  is,  the  aged  men. 

13.  With  him  is  wisdom  and  strength]  i.e.  with  God,  him  being 
emphatic.  There  is  no  antithesis  however  between  His  wisdom  and 
that  of  the  aged  referred  to  v.  12.  The  passage  that  follows  to  the  end 
of  the  chapter  describes  God's  power  and  wisdom  as  their  operations 
had  been  observed  by  men,  though  naturally  the  picture  receives  its 
colour  from  the  state  of  Job's  mind.  "Strength"  is  rather  might  or 
power  to  execute  what  wisdom  devises.  These  attributes  of  God's  con- 
found and  bring  to  nought  everything  bearing  the  same  name  among  men. 

14.  breaketh  dozvti]  e.g.  fenced  cities,  devoting  them  to  ruin,  cf. 
ch.  XV.  28. 


92  JOB,   XIL  [vv.  15—20. 

He  shuttcth  up  a  man,  and  there  can  be  no  opening. 

Behold,  he  withholdeth  the  waters,  and  they  dry  up: 

Also  he  sendeth  them  out,  and  they  overturn  the  earth. 

With  him  is  strength  and  wisdom : 

The  deceived  and  the  deceiver  are  his. 

He  leadeth  counsellers  away  spoiled, 

And  maketh  the  judges  fools. 

He  looseth  the  bond  of  kings, 

And  girdeth  their  loins  with  a  girdle. 
\      He  leadeth  princes  away  spoiled. 

And  overthroweth  the  mighty. 
I      He  removeth  away  the  speech  of  the  trusty, 

shtitteth  7ip  a  mafi]  In  prison,  as  captive  kings  and  the  like,  cf.  Jercm. 
xxii.  24  sei/.,  2  Kings  xxv.  27  sei/, 

15.  withholdeth  the  ivaters\  In  droughts.  The  second  half  of  the 
verse  refers  to  floods  and  cataclysms. 

16.  The  word  "wisdom"  in  this  verse  is  that  in  ch.  v.  12, 
xi.  6. 

the  deceived  attd  the  deceiver]  lit.  he  that  errs  and  he  that  leads  into 
error,  he  that  is  ruled  and  he  that  rules  oppressively.  These  are  dis- 
tinctions among  men  ;  to  God  both  are  the  same,  or  both  are  equally 
in  his  hand,  cf  Prov.  xxii.  2. 

17.  azvay  spoiled]  The  word  is  rendered  "stripped"  Mic.  i.  8,  the 
meaning  being,  deprived  of  their  outer  garments,  and  clothed  as  slaves 
and  captives.  The  word  might  perhaps  mean  "barefooted"  (so  Sept. 
Mic.  i.  8),  also  a  condition  of  those  in  destitution  and  mourning, 
2  Sam.  XV.  30. 

On  second  clause  "maketh  judges  fools,"  turns  them  into  fools,  and 
shews  them  as  fools,  cf  Is.  xliv.  25,  xix.  11  seq. 

18.  he  looseth  the  bond  of  kings]  The  verse  probably  means,  he  re- 
laxes, removes  the  authority  of  kings,  destroys  their  bond  or  power 
over  men ;  and  as  a  consequence  their  own  loins  are  girt  with  a 
girdle,  i.e.  either  the  common  girdle  of  the  labourer,  or  the  cord  of  the 
captive. 

19.  leadeth  princes  away  spoiled]  Rather,  priests.  In  antiquity 
priests  occupietl  influential  places ;  cf.  what  is  said  of  Melchizedek, 
Gen.  xiv.,  of  Jethro,  priest  of  Midian,  Ex.  ii.  16  seq.,  and  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  priests  in  several  crises  of  the  history  of  Israel.  On 
"spoiled  "  see  v.  17. 

the  mighty]  lit.  the  established  or  perennial ;  being  in  apposition  with 
priests,  usually  a  hereditary  caste,  the  word  describes  those  who  occupied 
high  permanent  place  among  men. 

20.  the  speech  of  the  trusty]  Eloquent  men,  able  to  recommend  and 
carry  their  plans.  The  wurd  "understanding"  means  sense  or  dis- 
cretion (Prov.  xi.  22). 


vv.  21—25.]  JOB,  Xir.  93 

And  taketh  away  the  understanding  of  the  aged. 

He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes,  21 

And  weakeneth  the  strength  of  the  mighty. 

He  discovereth  deep  things  out  of  darkness,  22 

And  bringeth  out  to  light  the  shadow  of  death. 

He  increaseth  the  nations,  and  destroyeth  them :  23 

He  enlargeth  the  nations,  and  straiteneth  them  again. 

He  taketh  away  the  heart  of  the  chief  of  the  people  of  the  24 

earth. 
And  causeth  them  to  wander  in  a  wilderness  where  there 

is  no  way. 
They  grope  in  the  dark  without  light,  25 

And  he  maketh  them  to  stagger  like  a  drunken  man. 

21.  contempt  upon  princcs\  Or,  nobles,  ch.  xxxiv.  18;  cf.  Ps. 
cvii.  40. 

weakeneth  the  strength  of  the  mighty]  lit.  looseth  the  girdle  of  the 
strong.  As  the  garments  were  girt  up  for  active  labour  or  battle,  to 
loose  the  girdle  means  to  incapacitate  ;  Is.  v.  27. 

22.  he  discovereth  deep  things]  In  the  A.  V.  to  "discover"  is  to 
reveal,  to  bring  to  sight.  The  verse  means  that  God  through  His  wisdom 
sees  into  the  profoundest  and  darkest  deeps,  and  brings  what  is  hidden 
to  light.  "Shadow  of  death"  means  the  deepest  darlcness,  ch.  iii.  3. 
The  reference  is  not  to  be  limited  to  the  deep  and  concealed  plans  of 
men,  which  God  exposes  and  frustrates  (ch.  v.  13,  Is.  xxix.  15),  though 
this  may  be  included.  The  verse  can  hardly  mean  that  God  reveals  or 
manifests  His  own  profound  deeps  (ch.  xi.  6;  Is.  xlv.  15),  though  such  a 
sense  would  give  the  parallelism  desirable  to  the  two  other  commencing 
verses,  13  and  16. 

23.  God's  rule  among  the  nations  and  direction  of  their  fate. 

and  straiteneth  them  again]  Perhaps,  and  Icadcth  thctn  away,  cf 
2  Kings  xviii.  17.  The  clause  is  obscure,  it  may  not  be  a  direct,  but  an 
inverse  parallel  to  the  first  clause,  and  mean  :  he  spreadeth  abroad  (or, 
scattereth,  cf.  Jer.  viii.  2;  Numb.  xi.  32),  and  givdh  them  settlements 
again. 

24.  he  taketh  away  the  heart]  i.e.  the  understanding;  cf.  on  ch. 
xi.  12. 

in  a  wilderness]  Same  word  as  in  ch.vi.  18.  The  word  is  that  rendered 
"without  form,"  Gen.  i.  2;  Jer.  iv.  23,  i.e.  chaos.  The  reference  is  to 
the  confusion  and  perplexity  into  which  the  chiefs  are  thrown.  The 
word  is  finely  used  Is.  xlv.  19,  I  said  not  to  the  seed  of  Jacob  seek  ye 
me  in  the  waste,  i.e.  in  uncertain  conditions  (A.  V.,  in  vain). 

25.  Further  description  of  their  perplexity.    Cf.  ch.  v.  14. 
maketh  them  to  stagger]    Or,  to  ivander.     Cf.  Is.  xix.   14 ;  Ps.  cvii. 

27,  40. 


94  JOB,  XIII.  [vv.  1—4. 

13      Lo,  mine  eye  hath  seen  all  this^ 

Mine  ear  hath  heard  and  understood  it. 

2  What  ye  know,  the  same  do  I  know  also, 
I  am  not  inferior  unto  you. 

3  Surely  I  would  speak  to  the  Almighty, 
And  I  desire  to  reason  with  God. 

4  But  ye  are  forgers  of  lies. 

Ye  are  all  physicians  of  no  value. 

Cir.  XIII.  1—22.    Job  knows  the  Divine  Wisdom  and  Might 

AS   WELL   AS   THE   FrIENDS  ;    THEIR   APPLICATION    OF   THESE   TO 
HIM    IS    FALSE.         HE    DESIRES    TO    PLEAD    HIS    CaUSE    BEFORE 

God. 

Having  finished  his  delineation  of  God's  might  and  wisdom  as  they 
act  in  the  world,  Job  looks  back  upon  his  picture,  saying  that  he  knows 
all  this  as  well  as  his  friends  {vv.  1,2);  but  his  calamities  receive  thereby 
no  solution.  In  spite  of  this  knowledge  he  desires  to  plead  his  cause 
before  God  {v.  3). 

And  they  who  sought  to  use  this  wisdom  and  might  of  God  against 
him,  were  mere  forgers  of  lies,  who  gave  a  false  as  well  as  feeble  ex- 
planation of  his  troubles  {vv.  4,  5).  They  were  nothing  but  partizans 
for  God.  And  as  they  had  invoked  the  omniscience  of  God  against  him 
he  will  threaten  them  with  the  judgment  of  the  same  God,  who  will 
search  out  their  hidden  insincerity,  and  before  whom  their  old  maxims 
will  be  but  "  proverbs  of  ashes"  {vv.  6 — 12). 

With  this  stinging  rebuke  to  his  friends  Job  turns  from  them  unto 
God.  He  will  adventure  all  and  go  into  His  presence  to  plead  his  cause 
come  what  may  {w.  13 — 15).  This  courage  which  he  feels  is  token  to 
him  that  he  shall  be  victorious,  for  a  godless  man  would  not  dare  to 
come  before  God.  He  knows  he  shall  be  found  in  the  right  {vv.  16 — 19). 
Only  he  will  beg  for  two  conditions,  That  God  would  remove  His  hand 
from  him,  and,  That  he  would  not  terrify  him  by  His  majesty;  then  he 
is  ready  to  answer  if  God  will  call,  or  to  speak  if  God  will  answer 
{vv.  20—22). 

1 — 2.  Looking  back  to  his  delineation  of  the  Divine  wisdom  and 
might  as  they  dominate  among  men  and  in  the  world  (ch.  xii.  7 — 25), 
Job  says  that  his  knowledge  of  them  is  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  friends — 
a  final  answer  to  Zophar,  ch.  xi.  6 ;  cf.  as  to  v.  2  ch.  xii.  3. 

3.  But  this  knowledge  neither  helps  nor  hinders  him.  In  spite  of 
this  knowledge,  if  not  because  of  it,  he  desires  to  reason  with  God. 

surely  /  wo  11 /d  speak]  Rather,  but  I  would  (same  word  in  v.  4). 

4.  but  ye  are  forgers  of  lics\  The  but  in  v.  3  had  for  its  background 
the  knowledge  of  the  Divine  wisdom  (j^.  i,  2) ;  Job  knows  this  well, 
hut  for  all  his  knowledge  of  it  he  desires  to  plead  his  cause  before  God, 
he  will  speak  unto  the  Almighty.     This  desire  and  purpose,  however. 


vv.  5-8.] JOB,  XIII. _95 

O  that  you  would  altogether  hold  your  peace,  ; 

And  it  should  be  your  wisdom. 

Hear  now  my  reasoning,  ^  ( 

And  hearken  to  the  pleadings  of  my  lips. 

Will  you  speak  wickedly  for  God  ?  : 

And  talk  deceitfully  for  him  ? 

Will  ye  accept  his  person  ?  £ 

Will  ye  contend  for  God .-' 

are  crossed  by  the  thought  of  the  use  which  his  friends  make  of  the 
Divine  wisdom  against  him,  and  he  is  diverted  from  his  great  object  to 
administer  a  rebuke  to  them — dui  ye  are  forgers  of  lies.  Verses  4 — 12 
are  therefore  a  digression,  the  main  object  being  resumed  in  v.  13  ;  the 
digression,  however,  is  profoundly  interesting.  In  clause  one  Job  tells 
his  friends  that  their  assumptions  of  his  guilt  and  the  application  which 
they  made  to  his  case  of  the  Divine  omniscience  are  false ;  in  the 
second  he  compares  them  to  ignorant  physicians,  who  take  in  hand  a 
disease  which  they  are  incompetent  to  treat. 

5.  This  verse  is  suggested  by  the  last  clause  of  the  preceding — their 
impotence  to  help  was  such  that  their  silence  would  be  the  most  helpful 
thing  they  could  offer.  There  is  a  final  sarcasm  at  Zophar's  speech  in 
the  reference  to  "wisdom";  cf.  Prov.  xvii.  28,  Even  a  fool  when  he 
holdeth  his  peace  is  counted  wise;  and  the  si  taaiisses,  philosophus 
inansisses,  quoted  by  all  the  commentators. 

6 — 12.  Severe  rebuke  of  the  three  friends,  in  which  (i)  they  are 
charged  with  partiality  for  God,  and  with  acting  the  advocate  for  Him 
(-.jy,  6 — 8) ;  and  (2)  they  are  threatened  with  the  chastisement  of  God 
for  their  insincerity,  and  for  falsely  pleading  even  in  God's  behalf 
\^v.  9 — 12). 

6.  hear  now  my  reasoning]  Rather,  hear  now  my  rebuke.  The 
reference  is  not  to  Job's  cause  with  God,  this  is  not  resumed  till  v.  13. 
He  utters  a  formal  indictment  against  his  friends  which  he  commands 
them  to  hear. 

the  pleadings  of  my  lips']  i.e.  the  reproofs  of  my  lii)s,  their  plead- 
ings against  you,  or  their  controversy  with  you,  cf.  Deut.  xvii.  8.  These 
reproofs  now  follow,  vv.  7 — 9. 

7.  speak  wickedly]  Or,  tvrongoiisly ,  lit.  speak  iniquity,  ch.  v.  16,  cf. 
Zophar's  recommendation  to  Job,  ch.  xi.  14.  For  God  means  in  His 
behalf,  in  His  defence ;  and  the  words /cir  God  are  emphatic. 

8.  The  same  charge  put  more  explicitly.  To  accept  the  person  of 
one  is  to  be  partial  on  his  side,  cf.  v.  10. 

contend  for  God]  i.e.  will  ye  play  the  advocate  for  God?  The 
charge  made  against  his  friends  by  Job  is  that  they  had  no  knowledge 
of  his  guilt,  and  merely  took  part  for  God  against  him  out  of  servility 
to  God.  This  servility  was  nothing  but  a  superficial  religiousness, 
allied  to  superstition,  which  did  not  torm  its  conception  of  God  from 
the  broad  tacts  of  the  universe. 


96  JOB,   XIII.  [vv.  9—12, 

Is  it  good  that  he  should  search  you  out  ? 

Or  as  one  man  mocketh  another,  do  ye  so  mock  him  ? 

He  will  surely  reprove  you, 

If  ye  do  secretly  accept  persons. 

Shall  not  his  excellency  make  you  afraid  ? 

And  his  dread  fall  upon  you  ? 

Your  remembrances  are  like  unto  ashes, 

Your  bodies  to  bodies  of  clay. 

9.  Ts  il  goodi  The  words  may  mean,  will  it  be  well  (for  you)  that  lie 
should  search  (or,  when  He  shall  search)?  or  as  ch.  x.  3,  do  you  like 
that  He  should  search  you  out  ?     The  second  clause  should  read, 

Or  as  one  deceiveth  a  man  will  ye  deceive  Him  ? 
When  God  searches  you  out  and  looks  into  the  secret  springs  of  your 
actions  do  you  expect  to  be  able  to  deceive  Him  by  representations  or 
demeanour  or  look  as  one  imposes  on  a  man,  who  cannot  "read  the 
mind's  construction  in  the  face  "? 

10.  God's  rectitude  and  impartiality  are  such  that  He  will  punish  par- 
tiality shewn  even  for  Himself — a  statement  which,  when  taken  along 
with  the  imputations  which  Job  has  cast  on  God,  shews  a  singular  con- 
dition of  his  mind. 

H.     his  cxccllcncyi\  His  majesty  affright  you.  They  shall  be  paralyzed 
when  they  stand  before  God  who  searches  the  heart. 
12.     This  verse  reads. 

Your  remembrances  shall  be  proverbs  of  ashes. 

Your  defences  defences  of  dust. 

The  term  "remembrances"  means  their  traditional  sayings,  remembered 
from  antiquity,  their  maxims,  such  as  Bildad  adduced,  ch.  viii.,  and 
Eliphaz  with  his  Remember  now  I  ch.  iv.  7  ;  these  shall  be  found  to  be 
but  ashes,  easily  dissipated,  and  not  able  to  resist.  The  word  "de- 
fences" is  used  of  the  boss  of  the  buckler,  ch.  xv.  26,  and  may  refer  to 
some  sort  of  breastwork  or  cover  from  which  men  assailed  the  enemy. 
These  shall  turn  out  defences  of  dust,  lit.  clay,  i.e.  dried  clay,  which 
crumbles  into  dust.  "Defences"  here  are  not  works  for  defence  strictly 
but  for  offence,  they  are  the  arguments  of  the  friends ;  cf.  Is.  xli.  21,  "strong 
reasons."  Tliese  great  arguments  which  the  friends  used  in  defence  of 
God  against  Job  shall  be  found  by  them,  when  God  searches  them  out, 
to  be  mere  ashes  and  crumbling  clay.  So  it  turned  out,  cf.  ch.  xlii.  7  seq. 
13 — 22.  Job  now  turns  from  his  friends,  whom  he  commands  to  be 
silent,  to  his  great  plea  with  God,  resuming  the  intention  expressed  in 
V.  3.  The  passage  has  two  parts,  one  preliminary,  w.  13 — 16,  ex- 
liibiting  a  singular  picture  of  the  conllict  between  resolution  and  fear 
in  Job's  mind.  He  will  go  before  God  come  upon  him  what  will  ^j.  13). 
Yet  he  cannot  hide  from  himself  that  it  may  be  at  the  hazard  of  his 
life.  Yet  he  will  not  be  deterred;  he  will  defend  his  ways  to  God's 
face  {vv.  14,  15).  And  yet  again,  this  very  courage  which  he  has, 
arising  from  his  sense  of  innocence,  is  a  token  to  him  that  he  shall  be 


vv.  13-15-1  JOB,  XIII.  97 

Hold  your  peace,  let  me  alone,  that  I  may  speak,  i 

And  let  come  on  me  what  will. 

Wherefore  do  I  take  my  flesh  in  my  teeth,  : 

And  put  my  life  in  mine  hand? 

Though  he  slay  xvlq., yet  will  I  trust  in  him: 

But  I  will  maintain  mine  own  ways  before  him. 

victorious  {v.  i6).  The  second  part,  w.  17 — 12.  Feeling  that  the 
victory  is  ah^eady  his  he  commands  his  friends  to  mark  his  pleading  of 
his  cause.  He  knows  he  shall  be  found  in  the  right.  Nay,  no  one 
will  even  plead  against  him  (vik  17 — 19).  Only  he  begs  two  condi- 
tions of  God,  That  He  would  lift  His  afflicting  hand  from  him,  and,  That 
He  would  not  affright  him  with  His  terror  {vv.  20 — 22). 

13.  that  I  may  spcak\  Emphasis  on /, — //;a^ /«t7»  may  speak.  The 
last  clause  intimates  his  resolve  to  speak  at  all  risks. 

14.  IVhcrefore  do  I  take\  Or,  should  I  take.  This  and  the  following 
verse  are  surrounded  with  difficulties.  The  meaning  of  the  second 
clause  oiv.  14  is  well  ascertained  from  usage,  it  is  :  to  expose  one's  life 
to  jeopardy,  Judg.  xii.  3,  i  Sam.  xix.  5,  xxviii.  21,  Ps.  cxix.  109.  The 
meaning  of  the  first  clause  is  doubtful,  as  the  expression  does  not  occur 
again.  It  is  held  by  many  that  the  figure  is  borrowed  from  the  action 
of  a  wild  beast,  which  seizes  its  prey  in  its  teeth  and  carries  it  off  to  a 
place  of  security;  in  which  case  the  meaning  would  be.  Why  should 
I  seek  anxiously  to  preserve  my  life?  If  this  be  assumed  to  be  the 
meaning  the  interrogation  must  end  with  the  first  clause.  Why 
should  I  take  my  flesh  in  my  teeth  ?  nay,  I  will  put  my  life  in  mine 
hand.  This  is  not  quite  satisfactory.  Hence  an  endeavour  is  made  by 
many  to  extract  a  sense  from  the  second  clause  difterent  from  that  sanc- 
tioned by  usage,  a  sense  indeed  to  appearance  the  opposite  of  it,  and 
corresponding  to  the  first  clause.  It  is  assumed  that  the  phrase  properly 
means  to  commit  one's  life  to  his  hand  to  carry  it  through,  to  fight  one's 
way  through  ;  in  other  words,  to  make  strenuous  efforts  to  save  one's 
life.  This  is  rather  a  hazardous  mode  of  dealing  with  language  the 
meaning  of  which  is  established  by  usage.  The  obscurity  of  the  first 
clause  makes  it  impossible  to  be  certain  of  the  construction  of  the 
verse. 

15.  The  general  meaning  of  v.  14  must  be  the  same  however  the 
verse  is  construed,  though  it  may  be  expressed  in  two  ways,  viz.  either. 
Why  should  I  painfully  strive  to  preserve  my  life?  or,  I  am  ready  to 
risk  my  life  (or  in  both  ways).     Verse  15  reads  most  naturally, 

Behold  he  will  slay  me  :  I  will  not  wait : 
Yet  will  I  defend  my  ways  to  his  face. 

The  words  "he  will  slay  me"  refer  to  what  Job  anticipates  may  be  the 
result  of  his  daring  to  maintain  the  rectitude  of  his  life  to  God's  face,  as 
the  second  clause  intimates.  These  two  clauses  are  in  close  connexion, 
and  the  words  "I  will  not  wait"  are  almost  parenthetical — behold  he 
will  slay  me  (I  will  not  wait  for  a  more  distant  death),  notwithstanding 

JOB  7 


98  JOB,   XIII.  [vv.  16—19. 

He  also  shall  be  my  salvation : 
For  a  hypocrite  shall  not  come  before  him. 
Hear  diligently  my  speech, 
And  my  declaration  with  your  ears. 
Behold  now,  I  have  ordered  viy  cause; 
I  know  that  I  shall  be  justified. 
I      Who  is  he  that  will  plead  with  me  ? 

For  now,  if  I  hold  my  tongue,  I  shall  give  up  the  ghost. 

I  will  defend,  &c.  Others  refer  the  words  "behold  he  will  slay  me" 
to  Job's  certainty  of  speedy  death  from  his  disease.  And  again,  some 
render  the  words  "  I  will  not  wait,"  I  have  no  hope  ;  and  thus  a  variety 
of  meanings  all  more  or  less  suitable  arises.  The  word  to  wait  hardly 
has  the  sense  of  to  hope,  at  least  in  this  Book,  cf.  ch.  vi.  11,  xiv.  14, 
xxix.  21,  XXX.  26,  and  in  another  form  in  the  mouth  of  Elihu,  ch.  xxxii. 
II,  16. 

Instead  of  the  word  not  before  ^vait  another  reading  gives  for  him, 
ox  for  it.  This  is  the  reading  of  many  ancient  versions  ;  and  the  ren- 
dering of  the  Vulgate,  ctiamsi  occidci-it  me  in  ipso  sperabo,  has  been 
followed  by  most  modern  translations,  as  by  our  own.  Such  a  sense, 
however,  does  not  suit  the  connexion.  If  this  reading  be  adopted,  some 
such  sense  must  be  given  to  the  clause  as  that  preferred  by  Delitzsch : 
Behold  he  will  slay  me — I  wait  for  him  :  only  I  will  defend,  &c. ;  that 
is,  I  wait  for  His  final  stroke. 

16.     He  also  shall  be]     Rather,  this  also. 

for  a  hypocrite  shall  not]  Rather,  that  a  godless  man  •will  not; 
see  on  ch.  viii.  13.  A  godless  man  will  not  dare  to  go  before  God;  but 
Job  dares  and  desires ;  and  this  courage,  sweet  evidence  to  himself  of 
his  innocence,  he  says  will  be  his  salvation,  that  is,  will  secure  him 
victory  in  his  plea  with  God.  He  hardly  distinguishes  between  his  own 
•consciousness  of  innocence  and  his  innocence  itself  and  the  proof  of  it. 
He  is  so  conscious  of  it  that  he  is  sure  it  will  appear  before  God, 
cf.  V.  18  and  the  passage  ch.  xxvii.  8  foil. 

17 — 22.  Assured  of  victory,  he  commands  his  friends  to  mark  his 
pleading  of  his  cause. 

18.  I  know  that  I  shall  be  justif-ed]  i.e.  be  found  in  the  right,  ch. 
xi.  ■2. 

19.  Who  is  he  that  7vill  plead  with  me]  i.  e.  plead  against  me, 
enter  to  oppose  me  with  good  reasons — who  will  bring  a  valid  argu- 
ment against  me?  The  words  are  a  triumphant  expression  of  the 
feeling  that  no  one  will  or  can,  cf.  Is.  1.  8. 

for  no~v  if  I  hold  my  tongue,  &c.  ]  Rather,  for  then  would  I  hold 
my  peace,  and  give  up  the  ghost ;  that  is,  in  case  any  one  should 
appear  against  him  with  proof  of  his  sin.  The  words  form  a  splendid 
climax  to  the  declaration  of  his  consciousness  of  innocence.  He  is  sure 
he  shall  be  found  in  the  right,  nay,  none  will  be  found  to  contend  with 
him ;  if  he  thought  any  one  could  he  would  be  silent  and  die. 


w.  20— 22.]  JOB,  XIII.  99 

Only  do  not  two  i/ii/igs  unto  me:  2 

Then  will  I  not  hide  myself  from  thee. 

Withdraw  thine  hand  far  from  me:  a 

And  let  not  thy  dread  make  me  afraid. 

Then  call  thou,  and  I  will  answer:  2 

Or  let  me  speak,  and  answer  thou  me. 

20,  21.  Yet  the  thought  recurs  before  whom  he  is  to  appear  and 
against  whom  he  has  to  maintain  his  plea,  and  he  begs  God  to  grant 
two  conditions,  cf.  ch.  ix.  34,  35. 

22.  With  these  conditions  he  is  ready  to  appear  either  as  respondent 
o-r  as  appellant. 

Ch.  XIII.  22 — XIV.    Job  pleads  his  cause  before  God. 

Having  ordered  his  cause  and  challenged  his  friends  to  observe  how 
he  will  plead.  Job  now  enters,  with  the  boldness  and  proud  bearing  of 
one  assured  of  victory,  upon  his  plea  itself.  There  is  strictly  no  break 
between  the  passage  which  follows  and  the  foregoing ;  the  division  is 
only  made  here  for  convenience'  sake.  It  would  scarcely  be  according 
to  the  author's  intention  to  make  ^'.  23  the  plea,  and  assume  that,  as 
God  did  not  answer  the  demand  there  made,  Job's  plea  took  another 
turn.  The  question  whether  Job  actually  did  expect  that  he  would  be 
replied  to  out  of  heaven  can  hardly  be  answered.  We  must,  however, 
take  into  account  the  extreme  excitation  of  his  mind,  and  the  vividness 
with  which  men  in  that  age  realized  the  nearness  of  God  and  looked  for 
His  direct  interference  in  their  aftairs  and  life.  According  to  the  modes 
of  conception  which  appear  everywhere  in  the  Poem,  there  was  nothing 
extravagant  in  Job's  expecting  a  direct  reply  to  his  appeal;  for  that 
such  an  answer  might  be  given  is  evidently  the  meaning  of  Zophar's 
words,  ch.  xi.  6  ;  and  in  point  of  fact  the  Lord  does  at  last  answer  Job 
by  a  voice  from  heaven,  ch.  xxxviii.  scq. 

The  plea  itself  has  a  certain  resemblance  to  that  in  chaps,  vii.  and  x., 
but  is  more  subdued  and  calm.  The  crisis  is  now  really  over  in  Job's 
mind.  Though  he  has  not  convinced  his  friends,  he  has  fought  his  way 
through  any  doubts  which  their  suspicions  and  his  afflictions  might  have 
raised  in  his  own  thoughts.  The  courage  with  which  he  is  ready  to  go 
before  God  he  feels  to  be  but  the  reflection  of  his  innocence  ;  and  this 
feeling  throws  a  general  peace  over  his  spirit,  which  regrets  over  the 
brevity  of  his  life,  and  perplexity  at  beholding  God  treat  so  severely  so 
feeble  a  being  as  himself,  are  able  only  partially  to  disturb.  After  the 
few  direct  demands  at  the  beginning  to  know  what  his  sins  are  {v.  23), 
his  plea  becomes  a  pitiful  appeal  unto  God,  from  which  the  irony  of 
former  appeals  is  wholly  absent.  As  before,  he  contrasts  the  littleness 
of  man  and  the  greatness  of  God,  but  his  conception  both  of  God  and 
man  is  not  any  more,  so  to  speak,  merely  physical,  but  moral.  He 
speaks  of  the  sins  of  his  youth  (ch.  xiii.  26),  and  of  the  universal  sinful- 
ness of  man  (ch.  xiv.  4),  and  appeals  to  the  forbearance  of  God  in 
dealing  with  a  creature  so  imperfect  and  shortlived. 

7  —  2 


lOo  JOB,   XIII.  [vv.  23,  24. 

?3      How  many  are  mine  iniquities  and  sins? 

Make  me  to  know  my  transgression  and  my  sin. 
24      Wherefore  hidest  thou  thy  face, 

And  holdcst  me  for  thine  enemy? 

First,  Job  demands  to  know  what  his  sins  arc,  and  wonders  that  God 
who  is  so  great  would  pursue  a  witlicrcd  leaf  like  him,  and  bring  up 
now  after  so  long  the  sins  of  his  youth — one  who  wastes  away  like 
a  garment  that  is  moth-eaten  (ch.  xiii.  23 — 28). 

Second,  this  reference  to  his  own  natural  feebleness  widens  his  view 
to  the  condition  of  the  race  of  man  to  which  he  belongs,  whose  two 
characteristics  are :  that  it  is  of  few  days,  and  filled  with  trouble. 
And  he  wonders  that  God  would  bring  such  a  being  into  judgment  with 
Him  ;  when  the  race  of  man  is  universally  imperfect  and  a  clean  one 
cannot  be  found  in  it.  And  he  founds  an  appeal  on  the  fated  shortness 
of  man's  life  that  God  would  not  afflict  him  with  strange  and  uncom- 
mon troubles,  but  leave  him  to  take  what  comfort  he  can,  oppressed 
with  only  the  natural  hardships  of  his  short  and  evil  "day"  (th.  xiv. 
1-6). 

Third,  this  appeal  is  supported  by  the  remembrance  of  the  inexorable 
"nevermore"  which  death  writes  on  man's  life.  Sadder  is  the  fate  of 
man  even  than  that  of  the  tree.  The  tree  if  cut  down  will  bud  again, 
but  man  dieth  and  is  gone  without  return  as  wholly  as  the  water 
which  the  sun  sucks  up  from  the  pool;  his  sleep  of  death  is  eternal 
{vv.  7 — 12). 

Fourth,  step  after  step  Job  has  gone  down  deeper  into  the  waters  of 
despair — the  universal  sinfulness  of  mankind  and  the  inexorable  severity 
of  God  ;  the  troubles  of  life  of  which  one  nmst  sate  himself  to  the  full ; 
its  brevity;  and  last  of  all  its  complete  extinction  in  death.  The 
waters  here  reach  his  heart ;  and  human  nature  driven  back  upon  itself 
becomes  projihetic  :  the  vision  rises  before  Job's  mind  of  another  life 
after  this  one,  and  he  pursues  with  excited  eagerness  the  glorious 
phantom  [vt.  13 — 15). 

Finally,  the  prayer  that  such  another  life  might  be  is  supported  by 
a  new  and  dark  picture  which  he  draws  of  his  present  condition 
{vv.  16 — 22). 

23.  Job  begins  his  plea  with  the  demand  to  know  the  number  of  his 
sins — how  many  iniquities  and  sins  have  I? — and  in  general  to  be  made 
aware  of  them.  He  means  what  great  sins  he  is  guilty  of,  sins  that 
account  for  his  present  afflictions.  He  does  not  deny  sinfulness,  even 
sins  of  his  youth  {v.  26) ;  what  he  denies  is  special  sins  of  such  magni- 
tude as  to  account  for  his  calamities.  Job  and  his  friends  both  agree  in 
the  theory  that  great  afilictions  are  evidence  that  God  holds  those  whom 
He  afilicts  guilty  of  great  offences.  The  friends  believe  that  Job  is 
guilty  of  sucli  offences ;  he  knows  he  is  not,  and  he  here  demands  to 
know  what  the  sins  are  of  which  God  holds  him  guilty. 

24.  Wherefore  hidest  thou  tliy  facc\  This  does  not  mean,  Wherefore 
dost  thou  refuse  to  answer  me  ncnu  ?  the  reference  is  to  God's  severity 


vv.  25— 2S;   I.]  JOB,    XIII.    XIV.  loi 

Wilt  thou  break  a  leaf  driven  to  and  fro  ?  is 

And  wilt  thou  pursue  the  dry  stubble  ? 

For  thou  writest  bitter  things  against  me,  26 

And  makest  me  to  possess  the  iniquities  of  my  youth. 

Thou  puttest  my  feet  also  in  the  stocks,  c? 

And  lookest  narrowly  unto  all  my  paths; 

Thou  settest  a  print  upon  the  heels  of  my  feet. 

And  he,  as  a  rotten  thing,  consumeth,  zs 

As  a  garment  that  is  moth-eaten. 

Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman  14 

in  afflicting  him,    as  is   shewn  by  the  words  "holdest  me  for  thine 
enemy,"  cf.  ch.  xix.  5,  xxxv.  2  scq. 

25.  Wilt  thou  bn-ak]  Or,  Wilt  thou  aflfright,  that  is,  chase.  The 
"driven  leaf"  and  the  "dry  stubble"  are  figures  for  that  which  is  so 
light  and  unsubstantial  that  it  is  the  sport  of  every  wind  of  circum- 
stance. So  Job  describes  himself,  in  contrast  with  God,  and  asks, 
Is  thy  determination  to  assail  this  kind  of  foe  the  explanation  of  my 
afflictions  ? 

26.  for  thou  ivi-itest'\  Or,  that  thou  writest.  To  "write"  is  to 
prescribe,  or  ordain,  Is.  x.  i  ;  Hos.  viii.  12. 

makest  we  to  possess]  Or,  inherit.  J  ob  aclcnowledges  sins  of  his  youth, 
not  of  his  riper  manhood,  and  he  conceives  that  his  present  afflictions 
may  be  for  his  former  sins,  which  in  his  past  fellowship  with  God  he 
had  deemed  long  forgiven.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  looks 
back  on  gross  youthful  sins,  but  on  such  as  youth  is  not  free  from,  and 
as  he  feared  in  his  own  children,  ch.  i.  5.  Cf.  the  prayer  of  the 
Psalmist,  Ps.  xxv.  7. 

27.  Thou  puttest']  Rather,  and  puttest  my  feet  in  &c.  The  verse 
describes  his  afflictions  under  three  figures,  all  denoting  arrest,  im- 
possibility of  movement  or  escape,  and  chastisement.  The  first  words 
are  brought  up  by  Elihu,  ch.  xxxiii.  11,  cf.  Jerem.  xx.  2 ;  Acts  xvi.  24. 

settest  a  print  upon  the  heels]  Rather,  and  drawest  thee  a  line 
around  the  soles  of  my  feet.  The  figure  means  that  God  rigidly  pre- 
scribed his  movements,  drawing  bounds,  which  he  must  not  overstep, 
around  his  feet.     He  is  a  prisoner  under  rigid  surveillance. 

28.  And  he  as  a  rotten  thing]  Or,  one  who  as  a  rotten  thing.  Job 
no  more  speaks  of  himself  in  the  first  person,  but  in  the  third,  because 
he  thinks  of  himself  as  one  of  the  human  race  in  general,  which  is  feeble 
and  short-lived. 

Ch.  xiv.  1.  In  the  last  verse  of  ch.  xiii.  Job  thought  of  himself  as 
one  of  the  race  of  men,  and  now  he  speaks  of  the  characteristics  of  this 
race. 

born  of  a  woman]  The  offspring  of  one  herself  weak  and  doomed  to 
sorrow  (Gen.  iii.  16)  must  also  be  weak  and  doomed  to  trouble,  cf. 
ch.  XV.  14,  xxv.  4. 


102  JOB,   XIV.  [vv.  2—6. 

Js  of  (c\v  days,  and  full  of  trouble. 

He  cometh  forth  like  a  flower,  and  is  cut  down: 

He  fleeth  also  as  a  shadow,  and  continueth  not. 

And  dost  thou  open  thine  eyes  upon  such  a  one, 

And  bringest  me  into  judgment  with  thee  ? 

Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ? 

Not  one. 

Seeing  his  days  a7r  determined. 

The  number  of  his  months  are  with  thee, 

Thou  hast  appointed  his  bounds  that  he  cannot  pass; 

Turn  from  him,  that  he  may  rest, 

Till  he  shall  accomplish,  as  a  hireling,  his  day. 

2.  and  is  nit  do^cft']  Rather,  and  witbereth,  cf.  similar  figures 
Is.  xl.  6  sft/. ;  Ps.  xxxvii.  2,  xc.  6,  ciii.  15  St^t/. 

3.  A  question  of  astonishment  at  the  severity  of  God's  dealing  with 
a  creature  of  such  weakness  as  man.  "To  open  the  eyes"  is  to  look 
narrowly  to,  to  watch  in  order  to  punish. 

4.  The  question  of  astonishment  in  v.  3  supported  by  reference  to 
the  universal  sinfulness  of  man.     The  verse  reads, 

Oh  that  a  clean  might  come  out  of  an  unclean  ! 
There  is  not  one. 

The  phrase  7o/io  -ivill  give  (as  margin)  is  a  mere  optative  expression. 
Job  throws  his  idea  of  the  universal  uncleanness  of  man,  and  that  there 
is  not  one  without  sin,  into  the  form  of  a  wish  that  it  were  otherwise.  If 
tiie  race  of  men  were  not  universally  infected  with  sin,  which  each 
individual  inherits  by  belonging  to  the  race,  God's  stringent  treatment  of 
the  individuals  would  not  be  so  hard  to  understand.  For  similar  ideas 
of  the  universality  of  the  sinfulness  of  mankind  cf  Gen.  vi.  5  ;  Is.  vi.  5  ; 
I's.  li.  5,  also  the  words  of  Eliphaz  ch.  iv.  17  scq.  Job  urges  the  ad- 
mitted fact  as  a  plea  for  forbearance  on  the  side  of  God. 

5.  6.  Man  being  of  few  days  and  full  of  trouble  Job  pleads  that  God 
would  not  load  him  with  uncommon  afflictions,  but  leave  him  oppressed 
w  ith  no  more  than  those  natural  to  his  short  and  evil  life. 

6.  turn  from  him\  lit.  look  away  frovi  him,  cf.  ch.  vii.  19,  x.  20. 
— turn  thy  keen  scrutiny  away  from  him. 

may  rest]  i.e.  have  peace,  from  unwonted  affliction. 

till  he  shall  accomplishi  Or,  so  that  he  may  enjoy — so  that  he  may 
have  such  pleasure  as  is  possible  in  his  brief  and  evil  life,  which  is  of  no 
higher  kind  than  the  joy  of  the  labourer  during  his  hot  and  toilsome 
"day,"  cf.  ch.  vii.  i  seq.  The  sense  given  by  the  A.  V.,  "to  pay  off," 
is,  however,  possible  (Is.  xl.  2),  and  not  unsuitable  here. 

7 — 12.  The  irreparable  extinction  of  man's  life  in  death.  His 
destiny  is  sadder  even  than  that  of  the  tree.  His  sleep  in  death  is 
eternal. 


vv.  7—12.]  JOB,  XIV.  103 

For  there  is  hope  of  a  tree,  7 

If  it  be  cut  down,  that  it  will  sprout  again. 

And  that  the  tender  branch  thereof  will  not  cease. 

Though  the  root  thereof  wax  old  in  the  earth,  s 

And  the  stock  thereof  die  in  the  ground ; 

Yet  through  the  scent  of  water  it  will  bud,  £ 

And  bring  forth  boughs  like  a  plant. 

But  man  dieth,  and  wasteth  away:  ' 

Yea,  man  giveth  up  the  ghost,  and  where  is  he  ? 

As  the  waters  fail  from  the  sea,  ' 

And  the  flood  decayeth  and  drieth  up : 

So  man  lieth  down,  and  riseth  not :  ' 

Till  the  heavens  be  no  more,  they  shall  not  awake^ 

Nor  be  raised  out  of  their  sleep. 

7.  For  there  is  hope  of  a  tree,  if]  lit.  for  a  tree  hath  hope;  if  it  be  cut 
do"wn  it  ivill  sprout  again  &c. 

9.  like  a  plant]  i.  e.  a  fresh  and  new  plant ;  it  begins  a  new  life 
again. 

10.  wasteth  a^vay]  lit.  is  laid  prostrate. 

11.  fail  from  the  sea]  i.  e.  the  inland  sea  or  pool,  cf.  Is.  xix.  5  ;  so 
in  Arabic  bahr,  sea,  is  any  mass  of  water  whether  salt  or  fresh,  and 
also  a  river. 

the  flood]  tlie  stream.     A  graphic  figure  for  complete  extinction. 

12.  till  the  heavens  he  no  more]  i.e.  never;  cf.  Ps»  Ixxii.  7,  Till 
there  be  no  moon.  The  heavens  are  eternal,  cf.  Jer.  xxxi.  35,  36; 
Ps.  Ixxxix.  29,  36,  37. 

13—15.  Having  pursued  the  destiny  of  man  through  all  its  steps 
down  to  its  lowest,  its  complete  extinction  in  death,  Job,  with  a  revulsion 
created  by  the  instinctive  demands  of  the  huinan  spirit,  rises  to  the 
thought  that  there  might  be  another  life  after  this  one.  This  thought  is 
expressed  in  the  form  of  an  impassioned  desire. 

To  understand  these  verses  the  Hebrew  conception  of  death  must  be 
remembered.  Death  was  not  an  end  of  personal  existence:  the  dead 
person  subsisted,  he  did  not  live.  He  descended  into  Sheol,  the  abode 
of  deceased  persons.  His  existence  was  a  dreamy  shadow  of  his  past 
life.  He  had  no  communion  with  the  living,  whether  men  or  God ; 
comp.  iii.  12 — 19;  x.  21,  22,  xiv.  20 — 22.  This  idea  of  death  is  not 
strictly  the  teaching  of  revelation,  it  is  the  popular  idea  from  which 
revelation  starts,  and  revelation  on  the  question  rather  consists  in 
exhibiting  to  us  how  the  pious  soul  struggled  with  this  popular  con- 
ception and  sought  to  overcome  it,  and  how  faith  demanded  and  realized, 
as  faith  does,  its  demand,  that  the  communion  with  God  enjoyed  in  this 
life  should  not  be  interrupted  in  death.  This  was  in  short  a  demand 
and  a  faith  that  the  state  of  Sheol  should  be  overleaped,  and  that  the 
believing   soul  should  be   "taken"  by  God  in  death  to  Himself,  cf. 


I04  JOB,  XIV.  [vv.  13—15. 

O  that  thou  wouldest  hide  me  in  the  grave, 

That  thou  wouldest  keep  me  secret,  until  thy  wrath  be 

past, 
That  thou  wouldest  appoint  me  a  set  time,  and  remember 

me. 
If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again  ? 
All  the  days  of  my  appointed  time  will  I  wait, 
Till  my  change  come. 
Thou  shalt  call,  and  I  will  answer  thee: 
Thou  wilt  have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  thine  hands. 

Ts.  xvi.  10,  xllx.  15,  Ixxiii.  ■24.  This  was  the  solution  that  generally 
presented  itself  to  the  mind  when  death  was  contemplated.  The  present 
passage  differs  in  two  particulars.  It  does  not  exhibit  such  assured 
faith  as  these  passages  in  the  Psalms.  The  problem  before  the  Psalmists 
was  a  much  simpler  one  than  that  before  Job.  They  were  men  who, 
when  they  wrote  their  words  of  faith,  enjoyed  God's  fellowship,  and 
their  faith  protested  against  this  fellowship  being  interrupted  in  death. 
But  Job  has  lost  the  sense  of  God's  fellowship  through  his  afflictions, 
which  are  to  his  mind  proof  of  God's  estrangement  from  him,  hence  he  has 
so  to  speak  a  double  obstacle  to  overcome,  where  the  Psalmists  had  only 
one,  and  this  makes  him  do  no  more  here  than  utter  a  prayer,  while 
the  Psalmists  expressed  a  firm  assurance.  In  the  following  chapters, 
especially  ch.  xix..  Job  also  rises  to  assurance.  In  another  particular 
this  passage  differs  from  these  Psalms.  It  contemplates  a  different  and 
much  more  complete  solution  of  the  problem.  In  both  the  hope  of 
immortality  has  a  purely  religious  foundation.  It  springs  from  the 
irrepressible  longing  for  communion  with  God.  The  Psalmists,  in  the 
actual  enjoyment  of  this  communion,  either  protest  against  death  ab- 
solutely (Ps.  xvi.),  and  demand  a  continuance  in  life  that  this  fellowship 
may  continue — that  is,  they  rise  to  the  idea  of  true  immortality ;  or,  con- 
templating death  as  a  fact,  they  protest  against  the  popular  conception 
of  it,  and  demand  that  the  deceased  person  shall  not  sink  into  Sheol, 
but  pass  across  its  gulf  to  God.  Job's  conception  is  different  from 
either  of  these,  because  his  circumstances  are  different.  He  does  not 
enjoy  the  fellowship  of  God,  his  afflictions  are  evidence  of  the  contrary. 
His  firm  conviction  is  that  his  malady  is  mortal,  in  other  words,  that 
God's  anger  will  pursue  him  to  the  grave.  On  this  side  of  death  he  has 
no  hope  of  a  return  to  God's  favour.  Hence,  contemplating  that  he 
shall  die  under  God's  anger,  his  thought  is  that  he  might  remain  in 
Sheol  till  God's  wrath  be  past,  for  He  keepeth  not  His  anger  for  ever  ; 
that  God  would  appoint  him  a  period  to  remain  in  death  and  then 
remember  him  with  returning  mercy  and  call  him  back  again  to  His  fellow- 
ship. But  to  his  mind  this  involves  a  complete  return  to  life  again  of 
the  whole  man  [v.  14),  for  in  death  there  is  no  fellowship  with  God 
(Ps.  vi.  5).  Thus  his  solution,  though  it  appears  to  his  mind  only  as  a 
momentary  gleam  of  light,  is  broader  than  that  of  the  Psalmists,  and 


vv.  i6— 18.]  JOB,  XIV.  105 

For  now  thou  numberest  my  steps :  16 

Dost  thou  not  watch  over  my  sin  ? 

My  transgression  is  sealed  up  in  a  bag,  17 

And  thou  sewest  up  mine  iniquity. 

And  surely  the  mountain  falling  cometh  to  nought,  i3 

And  the  rock  is  removed  out  of  his  place. 

corresponds  to  that  made  known  in  subsequent  revelation.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  this  conception,  which  the  Author  of  the  Poem  allows  Job  to 
rise  to  out  of  the  very  extremity  of  his  despair,  was  one  not  unfamiliar  to 
himself  (cf.  Is.  xxiv.  22).     The  verses  read  as  a  whole  : — 

13  Oh  that  thou  wouldst  hide  me  in  Sheol, 

That  thou  wouldst  keep  me  secret  till  thy  wrath  be  past, 
That  thou  wouldst  appoint  me  a  set  time  and  remember  me — 

14  If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again? — 

All  the  days  of  my  appointed  time  would  I  wait 
Till  my  release  came ; 

15  Thou  wouldst  call  and  I  would  answer  thee, 

Thou  wouldst  have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  thine  hands. 

As  Job  follows  the  fascinating  thought,  the  feeling  forces  itself  upon  his 
mind  how  much  is  implied  in  it,  nothing  less  than  that  a  man  when 
dead  should  live  again  {v.  14),  but  he  will  not  allow  himself  to  be 
arrested  in  his  pursuit  of  the  glorious  vision — he  describes  how  he  would 
wait  all  the  period  appointed  to  him  (his  "warfare,"  cf.  ch.  vii.  i)  till 
his  release  came,  and  dwells  upon  the  joy  and  readiness  with  which  he 
would  answer  the  voice  of  his  Creator  calling  him  to  His  fellowship  again 
when  He  longed  after  the  work  of  His  hands  long  estranged  and  hidden 
from  Him  (ch.  x.  3).  The  words  "call"  and  " answer,"  z/.  15,  have 
here  naturally  quite  a  different  sense  from  the  forensic  or  judicial  one 
which  belongs  to  them  in  ch.  xiii.  22  and  similar  passages. 

16^22.  This  prayer  for  a  second  life  is  supported  by  a  picture  of 
the  severity  with  which  God  deals  with  man  in  this  life  and  the  mourn- 
ful consequences  of  it. 

16.  Figures  expressing  the  keen  scrutiny  with  which  God  watches  ' 
man's  life  in  order  to  detect  his  false  steps  and  observe  his  every  sin,  cf. 
ch.  xiii.  27. 

17.  Figures  expressing  the  carefulness  with  which  God  treasures  up 
a  man's  sins  lest  any  of  them  should  be  lost,  in  order  to  visit  the  full 
tale  of  them  upon  him. 

18 — 22.  Under  this  severe  treatment  man  must  perish.  For  even 
the  greatest  and  the  firmest  things  in  nature,  and  those  most  capable  of 
resistance,  are  worn  down  by  the  influence  of  constant  forces,  and  how 
much  more  man's  life  under  God's  continued  severity. 

18.  And  surely']     Rather,  but;  cf.  ch.  xiii.  3,  4. 

The  "  mountain  falling "  is  the  mountain  from  which  great  forces 
detach  pieces — as  man  is  subjected  to  the  shattering  strokes  of  God. 
The  second  clause  shews  this  to  be  the  meaning. 


io6  JOB,  XIV.  [vv.  19—22. 

The  waters  wear  the  stones: 

Thou  washest  away  the  things  which  grow  out  of  the  dust 

of  the  earth ; 
And  thou  destroyest  the  hope  of  man. 
Thou  prevailest  for  ever  against  him,  and  he  passeth: 
Thou  changest  his  countenance,  and  sendest  him  away. 
His  sons  come  to  honour,  and  he  knoweth  //  not; 
And  they  are  brought  low,  but  he  perceiveth  //  not  of 

them. 
But  his  flesh  upon  him  shall  have  pain, 
And  his  soul  within  him  shall  mourn. 

19.  The  turbulent  waters  wear  away  the  stones  of  the  brook  by  their 
constant  action. 

thou  -washest  away,  &c.]  Rather,  the  floods  thereof  (i.e.  of  the 
waters)  do  wash  away  the  soil  of  the  earth. 

and  thou  destroyest^  i.e.  so  thou  destroyest.  The  "hope"  of  man 
which  God  destroys  is  not  the  specific  hope  of  a  renewed  life  {v.  7) — 
this  idea  is  dismissed — but  more  general,  the  hope  of  life. 

20.  thou  changest  his  countenance]  A  graphic  and  pathetic  descrip- 
tion of  death.  The  word  "prevailest  against,"  i.e.  overpowerest  him, 
refers  to  the  last  conflict  and  the  final  stroke,  cf.  ch.  xv.  24. 

21.  "The  dead  know  not  anything ...  also  their  love  ...  is  now 
perished,"  Eccles.  ix.  5,  6. 

22.  Bid  hisfesh']  Or,  only.  The  prep,  rendered  here  "upon  him  " 
is  the  same  as  that  rendered  "within  him,"  it  means  -with  him  or  in 
connexion  with  him,  and  the  verse  differs  little  from  this.  Only  his  flesh 
hath  pain  and  his  soul  mourneth.  The  dead  knoweth  nothing  of  the 
upper  world,  only  this  can  be  said  of  him  that  his  flesh  hath  pain  and  his 
soul  mourneth ;  but  the  Hebrew  expresses  the  idea  more  distinctly  that 
liis  flesh  and  soul  do  these  things  in  connexion  with  him.  There  are 
two  ideas  expressed :  (i)  that  the  l)ody  in  the  grave,  being  that  of  a  still 
existing  person,  feels  the  gnawing  and  the  wasting  of  corruption,  cf.  Is. 
Ixvi.  24,  and  that  the  soul  in  Sheol  leads  a  mournful  and  dreary  exist- 
ence ;  and  (2)  that  these  elements  of  the  person  though  separated  still 
lielong  to  the  person. 

The  first  circle  of  speeches,  now  completed,  started  from  Job's  com- 
plaints in  ch.  iii.  Job  did  not  there  name  God  nor  make  any  open 
imputation  against  Him,  but  his  l;ittcr  maledictions  of  the  day  of  his 
birth  and  his  impatient  cry,  Why  gives  He  life  to  him  that  is  in  misery, 
(iii.  20),  shewed  too  well  against  whom  it  was  that  he  "turned  his 
spirit  "  (xv.  12.) 

Hence  the  three  friends  conceive  that  the  first  thing  to  aim  at  is  to 

bring  Job  back  to  just  and  reverent  thoughts  of  God.     Therefore  they 

.  dwell  upon  the  attributes  of  God  and  contrast  Him  with  man,  hoping 

by  this  great  thought  of  God  to  still  the  tumult  in  Job's  breast  and 

bring  him  to  take  his  right  place  before  the  Creator. 


JOB,   XIV.   XV.  107 

The  friends  all  impress  this  thought  of  6'^d^upon  Job,  each,  however, 
doing  it  in  his  own  way.  The  oldest  and  most  thoughtful  of  the  three, 
Eliphaz,  lays  hold  of  the  moral  purity  of  God  and  His  universal  good- 
ness. Bildad  insists  on  the  discriminating  rectitude  of  God  in  His  rule 
of  the  world.  While  Zophar  magnifies  the  omniscience  of  the  Divine 
insight,  which  guides  God's  dealings  with  men.  Each  of  these  views  is 
designed  to  meet  some  side  of  Job's  feeling  as  expressed  in  his  com- 
plaints. Job  answers  these  arguments  for  the  most  part  indirectly.  His 
own  unmerited  afflictions  furnished  the  answer  to  them,  and  he  mainly 
dwells  on  this.  Only  at  last  is  he  driven  by  the  form  in  which  Zophar 
puts  the  common  argument  of  the  friends  directly  to  meet  it.  To  their 
great  argument  of  "  God,"  with  which  they  thought  to  terrify  and  silence 
him,  he  replies  that  he  does  need  to  be  taught  regarding  God.  He  is 
not  inferior  to  them  in  knowledge  of  God ;  but  it  is  just  God  that  he 
desires  to  meet.  He  will  go  before  Him  to  maintain  his  rectitude.  He 
challenges  God  to  make  known  the  sins  of  which  he  has  been  guilty 
(xiii.  23). 

However  irreligious  Job's  demeanour  might  seem  to  his  friends  (xv. 
4),  it  is  obvious  that  he  has  struck  from  their  hands  the  weapon  they 
have  hitherto  been  using  against  him.  Their  argument  of  "  God  "  is 
exhausted.  Job's  passionate  proclamation  that  what  he  desires  above 
all  things  is  to  meet  God  and  maintain  his  ways  to  His  face  has  convinced 
them  that  he  is  not  to  be  vanquished  with  this  weapon.  Hence  they 
are  obliged  to  look  about  for  others. 


Ch.  XV. — XXI.     The  Second  Circle  of  Speeches. 

The  laudable  attempts  made  by  Job's  friends  to  bring  him  to  acknow- 
ledge his  sins  and  humble  himself  before  God  have  signally  failed.  The 
sublime  truths  they  have  sought  to  impress  on  him  regarding  God  have 
been  without  effect.  He  has  found  means  to  turn  the  point  of  every  one 
of  their  weapons.  And  his  passionate  declarations  of  his  innocence, 
and  challenge  of  the  Divine  omniscience  itself,  with  which  the  three 
friends  had  thought  to  silence  him,  convince  them  that  they  have  to  do 
with  a  man  on  whom  just  and  reverent  thoughts  of  God  make  no 
impression.  The  argument  from  the  attributes  of  God  has,  indeed,  been 
exhausted  ;  and  even  if  it  had  not,  Job's  violent  assault  upon  his  friends 
for  their  use  of  it,  and  his  charge  that  they  were  insincere  and  moved 
only  by  partizanship  for  God  (xiii.  4  seq.),  might  have  deterred  them  from 
arguing  further  in  this  direction.  Hence  the  argument  takes  now  a 
somewhat  different  form. 

Job's  protestations  of  his  innocence  did  not  convince  his  friends,  nor 
yet  his  challenge  of  God  and  attempt  to  force  an  answer  from  Him  (xiii. 
23  seq.).  The  manner  of  the  latter  shocked  them  by  its  irreverence,  and 
the  former  appeared  to  them  nothing  but  a  crafty  attempt  on  Job's  part 
to  conceal  his  guilt.  And  of  this  guilt  they  were  now  more  firmly 
convinced  than  ever  (xv.  4 — 6).  Job's  demeanour  under  his  sufferings 
only  confirmed  the  conclusions  which  his  sufferings  themselves  com- 
pelled them  to  draw.     Perhaps  his  abortive  appeal  to  heaven  persuaded 


loS  JOB,  XV. 

them  that  God  was  casthig  him  fmally  ofF.  At  all  events  his  behaviour 
explained  to  them  with  sufficient  distinctness  his  afflictions,  as  well  as 
made  Ihcm  dread  a  terrible  issue  to  them,  seeing  Job  under  them  could 
so  tempt  God  and  defy  Mis  righteousness  (xv.  6).  However  unwillingly, 
they  are  forced  to  conclude  that  they  see  in  Job  a  type  both  of  the 
calamities  that  befall  the  wicked  and  of  their  rebellious  impatience 
under  them.  In  this  way  the  thoughts  of  the  friends  are  drawn  away 
from  heaven  to  earth.  God  is  no  more  their  theme,  but  man,  especially 
the  wicked  man  as  history  and  experience  shciv  him  to  he  dealt  with  in 
the  providence  of  God.  The  effect  of  this  change  is  naturally  to  draw  the 
arguments  of  the  friends  closer  around  Job,  and  bring  the  debate  to  a 
crisis.  For  though  the  object  of  the  three  friends  in  drawing  their 
dark  pictures  of  the  heaven-daring  sinner  and  his  fate  is  to  awaken 
Job's  conscience  and  alarm  him,  that  he  may  turn  from  his  evil,  their 
arguments  are  now  of  a  kind  that  can  be  brought  to  the  test  of 
experience,  and  Job  so  soon  as  he  can  be  induced  to  grapple  with  them 
has  little  difficulty  in  disposing  of  them. 

Wiien  Job  fully  realizes  this  new  turn  that  things  are  taking  he  is 
overwhelmed  by  it.  He  had  anticipated  that  his  sincere  protestations  of 
his  innocence  v.'ould  carry  conviction  to  the  mind  of  his  friends.  But 
when  he  sees  them  regarding  these  protestations  as  nothing  but  a  crafty 
cover  of  his  guilt  he  realizes  for  the  first  time  his  true  position.  His 
isolation  and  misery  come  home  to  him  in  their  full  and  bitter  meaning. 
Men  and  God  alike  are  against  him  and  hold  him  guilty.  For  a  long 
time  Job  is  too  much  occu[)ied  with  his  new  position  to  be  able  to  turn 
his  mind  to  the  arguments  of  his  friends.  He  is  absorbed  in  the  thought 
of  his  isolation,  and  dwells  with  affecting  pathos  on  the  thought  how 
men  hate  him  and  flee  from  him.  Only  in  his  very  last  speech,  after  he 
has  fought  his  way  through  to  more  composure  of  mind,  does  he  seem  to 
awaken  to  what  the  argument  is  which  his  friends  are  using  against  him, 
and  then  he  deals  it  some  crushing  blows  which  effectually  demolish  it 
(ch.  xxi.). 

Cir.  XV.    The  Second  Speech  of  ELiniAz. 

As  before  Eliphaz  takes  the  lead  in  the  debate,  and  his  speech  strikes 
the  key  in  which  all  the  friends  conduct  it.  His  discourse  attaches  itself 
to  Job's  last  speech  (ch.  xii. — xiv.),  two  things  in  which  Eliphaz  lays 
hold  of,  first,  Job's  contemptuous  deriding  of  the  opinions  of  his  friends 
and  his  claim  to  a  higher  wisdom  (ch.  xii.  3,  7  seq.,  xiii.  1)  ;  and 
second,  his  irreverence  and  the  impiety  of  his  sentiments  (ch.  xiii.  23 
seq.,  xii.  6).  By  the  first  the  amour  pr-opre  of  Eliphaz  is  deeply  hurt ; 
and  this  very  aged  (ch.  xv.  10)  and  dignified  counsellor,  a  man  of  pure 
and  noble  blooil  (ch.  xv.  19),  betrays  by  a  number  of  allusions  to  himself 
and  his  former  speech  (ch.  xv.  10  seq.)  his  sense  of  having  been  unwor- 
thily treated.  Besides  his  irreverence  in  challenging  God's  omniscience 
and  seeking  to  thrust  himself  into  God's  very  presence.  Job  had  spoken 
words  destructive  of  all  godliness,  saying,  that  the  tents  of  robbers  were 
in  peace,  and  that  they  that  yirovoketl  God  were  secure  (ch.  xii.  6). 
In  oppositlun  to  such  sentiments  Eliphaz  will  shew  him  the  truth  in 


vv.  1—3.]  JOB,  XV.  109 

Then  answered  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  said,  15 

Should  a  wise  man  utter  vain  knowledge,  2 
And  fill  his  belly  with  the  east  wind  ? 

Should  he  reason  ivith  unprofitable  talk  ?  3 

regard  to  the  feelings  and  the  fate  of  the  wicked  man.  The  speech  thus 
falls  into  two  parts  : — 

First,  w.  1 — 16,  Eliphaz's  rebuke  of  Job's  contemptuous  treatment 
of  his  friends  and  assumption  of  superior  wisdom,  and  his  irreverence. 

Second,  vv.  17 — 35,  the  doctrine  of  Eliphaz  regarding  the  wicked 
man's  conscience  and  fate. 

2^16.     Eliphaz  rehukes  Job's  coNTEMrTuous  treatment  of 

THE     OPINIONS      OF     HIS      FRIENDS,     AND      HIS      IRREVERENCE 

TOWARDS  God. 

First,  starting  with  Job's  claim  to  a  wisdom  beyond  that  of  his  friends 
(ch.  xii.  3,  7  seq.,  xiii.  2),  Eliphaz  asks  if  it  be  in  the  manner  of  a  wise 
man  to  use  loud  and  empty  words  as  arguments  [vv.  1 — 3).  But  in 
truth  Job  was  more  than  unwise,  he  was  impious.  His  demeanour  and 
sentiments  did  away  with  all  devoutness  and  religion.  Such  language 
as  he  uttered  could  be  inspired  only  by  deep  evil  in  liis  heart ;  and  was 
proof  enough  without  anything  more  of  his  wickedness  (vv.  4 — 6). 

Second,  then  coming  back  upon  these  two  points,  Job's  claim  to 
wisdom  and  his  irreverence,  Eliphaz  developes  each  of  them  separately. 

(i)  This  claim  to  wisdom,  which  he  puts  forth,  whence  has  he  it? 
Was  he  the  first  man  born  ?  Did  he  come  straight  from  God's  hand  ? 
Did  he  sit  in  the  council  of  heaven  and  appropriate  wisdom  to  himself? 
And  how  came  he,  a  man  not  yet  old,  to  have  such  preeminence  in 
wisdom  over  them,  some  of  whom  were  old  enough  to  be  his  father, 
that  he  thought  himself  entitled  to  put  away  from  him  admonitions 
which  were  consoling  truths  of  God's  revelation  and  spoken  to  him  in 
gentleness  and  temperance?  {vv.  7 — 11). 

(2)  And  why  did  he  allow  his  passion  to  carry  him  away  into  making 
charges  of  unrighteousness  against  God  ?  For  how  can  a  man  be  pure 
in  God's  sight  ?  In  His  eyes  the  heavens  are  not  clean,  much  less  man, 
whose  avidity  for  evil  is  like  that  of  a  thirsty  man  for  water  {vv. 
12 — 16). 

2.  Should  a  wise  man  utter  vain  kftowledgel  Or,  will  a  wise  man 
answer  with  vain,  &c. ,  lit.,  knowledge  of  wijid,  i.e.  empty  and  loud,  cf. 
ch.  viii.  2,  xvi.  2.  The  word  w/j^ refers  back  to  Job's  claims  to  superior 
■wisdom,  ch.  xii.  3,  xiii.  2.  Eliphaz  asks.  Is  this  the  manner  of  one  pos- 
sessed of  wisdom  ? 

Jill  his  belly  with  the  east  wind\  i.e.  puff  himself  up  and  then  bring  out 
of  his  mouth  violent  blasts  of  mere  barren  words;  cf  Hos.  xii.  i. 

3.  Should  he  reaso//]  Or,  will  he  reason,  or  better,  reasoning  with 
unprofitable  talk.  The  verse  is  subordinate  to  the  last,  carrying  out 
its  idea. 


no  JOB,   XV.  [vv.  4— 7- 

Or  with  speeches  wherewith  he  can  do  no  good  ? 

Yea,  thou  easiest  off  fear, 

And  restrainest  prayer  before  God  : 

For  thy  mouth  uttereth  thine  iniquity, 

And  thou  choosest  the  tongue  of  the  crafty. 

Thine  own  mouth  condemneth  thee,  and  not  Ij 

Yea,  thine  own  Hps  testify  against  thee. 

Art  thou  the  first  man  that  was  born  ? 

Or  wast  thou  made  before  the  hills  ? 

4.  Job  was  more  than  unwise,  he  was  doing  away  with  all  fear 
of  God. 

easiest  of  fear]  Or,  as  margin,  makest  void,  doest  away  with,  the 
fear  of  God. 

restrainest  prayer\  Rather,  impairest  reverence  or  devotion.  The 
charge  of  EHphaz  is  not  merely  that  Job  was  irreligious  himself,  but 
that  the  tendency  of  his  conduct  and  principles  must  be  to  diminish  and 
do  away  devoutness  and  religion  among  men. 

5.  for  thy  mcuth  uttereth  thine  iiiiipdty]  Rather,  for  thine  iniquity 
(or,  guilt)  teachetli  thy  mouth  ;  the  meaning  being  that  his  mouth  was 
prompted  by  his  iniquity,  used  as  its  instrument.  His  inquity  taught 
his  mouth  what  to  say. 

choosest  the  tongue  of  the  crafty]  i.e.  choosest  and  makest  use  of, — 
speakest  as  the  crafty  do.  The  charge  of  Eliphaz  is  that  Job's  com- 
plaint of  unrighteousness  in  God's  treatment  of  him  and  his  assertions 
of  his  own  innocence,  and  such  words  as  those  in  ch.  xii.  6,  were  mere 
crafty  pretences  put  forward  to  cover  his  own  wickedness.  If  the  first 
clause  have  precisely  the  same  sense  as  the  latter,  the  word  "iniquity" 
must  be  translated  "guilt." 

6.  But  in  truth  such  utterances  of  his  mouth  clearly  suggested  the 
source  which  inspired  them,  other  proof  of  his  guilt  than  they  was 
not  needed.  Thus  in  v.  5  Job's  language  and  sentiments  are  ex- 
plained by  his  guilt,  and  in  v.  6  his  guilt  is  proved  by  his  language ; 
and  both  verses  support  the  charge  in  v.  4  that  he  was  doing  away, 
breaking  with,  the  fear  of  God. 

7 — 11.  But  coming  back  to  Job's  assumption  of  superior  wisdom, 
Eliphaz  must  ask  on  what  it  rests  ? 

7.  Art  thou  the  first  /nan]  lit.  7vast  thou  born  a  man  frst?  The 
first  man  that  came  from  God's  hand  would  naturally  be  endowed  with 
preeminent  wisdom  and  other  attributes.  Schlottmann  (p.  303)  quotes 
an  ironical  proverb  current  in  India,  "  Yes,  yes,  he  is  the  first  man,  no 
wonder  that  he  is  so  wise."  The  second  clause  of  the  verse,  however, 
as  well  as  v.  8,  seems  to  express  the  conception  of  a  Being  formed 
before  the  earth,  either  the  Wisdom  of  Pro  v.  viii.  22  seq.,  or  a  Being 
similar,  cf.  especially  Prov.  viii.  25;  and  the  query  of  Eliphaz  is,  Art 
thou  the  veiy  Wisdom  of  God?  or,  Art  thou  such  a  Being  as  the 
Wisdom  of  God? 


vv.  8— II.]  JOB,   XV.  Ill 

Hast  thou  heard  the  secret  of  God  ?  J 

And  dost  thou  restrain  the  wisdom  to  thyself? 

What  knowest  thou,  that  we  know  not  ?  5 

What  understandest  thou,  which  is  not  in  us  ? 

With  us  are  both  the  grayheaded  and  very  aged  men,  i 

Much  elder  than  thy  father. 

Are  the  consolations  of  God  small  with  thee  ?  i 

Is  there  any  secret  thing  with  thee  ? 

8.  Hast  thou  heard  the  secret]  Rather,  didst  thou  listen  in  the  coun- 
cil of  God  ?     Cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  11,  Ps.  Ixxxix.  7  (assembly —  council). 

dost  thou  7-estrain  the  wisdom]  Rather,  didst  thou  draw  wisdom  to 
thyself?  i.e.  appropriate  or  absorb  wisdom.  The  "  wisdom  "  here  is 
the  highest,  divine  wisdom.  The  question  put  is,  whether  Job  was  a 
a  member  of  the  Divine  council,  so  as  to  have  full  knowledge  of  the 
mysteries  of  God?  The  Mohammedan  conception  of  evil  spirits 
(satans)  listening  and  overhearing  the  Divine  secrets  is  quite  different 
from  the  idea  here.  Such  spirits  have  no  access  to  heaven,  and  seek 
only  to  filch  fragments  of  God's  counsels.  The  shooting  stars  are  bolts 
which  God  hurls  at  these  intruding  eavesdroppers;  Kor.  xxxvii.  6 — 10. 

9.  Abandoning  irony  Eliphaz  comes  to  the  facts,  which  hardly  bear 
out  Job's  pretensions.  His  words  recall  those  of  Job,  ch.  xii.  3, 
xiii.  3. 

10.  This  verse  should  probably  read. 

Among  us  is  one  both  grayheaded  and  very  aged, 
One  older  in  days  than  thy  father. 

Eliphaz  with  a  dignified  indirectness  in  which,  hovi^ever,  a  certain 
personal  feeling  is  displayed,  alludes  to  himself.  Others  take  the  words 
"grayheaded"  and  "very  aged"  as  collectives — among  us  are  both  the 
grayheaded  and  the  very  aged  ;  in  which  case  "among  us"  must  mean 
"belonging  to  our  tribes."  But  in  reproving  Job's  demeanour  a 
reference  to  persons  absent  seems  out  of  place. 

11.  smalt  with  thee]  Rather,  are  the  consolations  of  God  too  small 
for  thee  ?  do  they  seem  to  thee  beneath  thy  deserts  and  notice  ? 
Numb.  xvi.  9;  Is.  vii.  13. 

is  there  any  secret  thing  with  thee]  Rather,  and  a  word  that  dealt 
gently  with  thee  ?  The  consolations  or  comforts  of  God  are  such  as 
proceed  from  God  and  are  authorized  by  Him.  Eliphaz  so  describes  his 
own  teaching,  e.g.  the  oracle,  ch.  iv.  12  seq.,  which  came  directly  from 
God ;  but  also,  no  doubt,  such  consoling  views  of  God's  providence 
as  he  shewed  ch.  v.  8  seq.  In  the  phrase  "a  word  that  dealt  gently 
with  thee  "  he  describes  the  gentle  and  conciliatory  manner  of  his  own 
first  speech.  He  may  include  his  friends  with  him  in  all  this,  but  there 
runs  throughout  this  discourse  an  under-current  of  references  to  himself. 

12 — 16.  Turning  from  Job's  arrogant  claims  to  superior  wisdom 
Eliphaz  must  rebuke  his  violent  and  irreverent  behaviour  towards  God  : 
What  is  man  that  he  should  be  clean  ? 


112  JOB,  XV.  [vv.  12— 16. 

Why  doth  thine  heart  carry  thee  away  ? 

And  what  do  thine  eyes  wink  at, 

That  thou  turnest  thy  spirit  against  God, 

And  lettest  such  words  go  out  of  thy  mouth  ? 

What  is  man,  that  he  should  be  clean  ? 

And  he  which  is  born  of  a  woman,  that  he  should  be 

righteous  ? 
Behold,  he  putteth  no  trust  in  his  saints; 
Yea,  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight. 
How  much  more  abominable  and  filthy 
Is  man,  which  drinketh  iniquity  like  water  ? 

12.  "what  do  thine  eyes  ivink  at\  Rather,  wherefore  do  thine  eyes 
wiiik?  i.e.,  flash  or  roll,  sign  of  violent  passion.  la  the  first  clause 
"  heart"  is  the  excited  mind  under  strong  feeling. 

13.  turnest  thy  spirif\  "Spirit"  may  be  breath,  i.e.,  anger,  fur)', 
ch.  iv.  9  "blast";  of.  Prov.  xvi,  32;  Is.  xxv.  4.  The  words  against 
Cod  are  emphatic. 

Icltcst  such  words  go  out]  lit.  l>ringest  forth  Tccr^j- out  of  thy  mouth. 
The  reference  is  less  to  the  kind  of  words  spoken  than  to  the  passionate 
manner  in  which  they  are  uttered. 

14.  What  is  there  to  justify  such  passion — thy  pretended  innocence? 
What  is  man  that  he  should  be  clean?  cf.  ch.  xiv.  i.  Eliphaz  recurs 
again  to  his  principles  formerly  enunciated,  ch.  iv.  17  Sci/.,  for  his 
former  speech  is  in  his  mind  throughout. 

15.  his  saints]  his  holy  ones,  i.e.  His  angels,  cf.  on  ch.  v.  i. 

the  heavens]  These  are  here  the  material  heavens,  not  the  celestial 
inhabitants,  cf.  ch.  xxv.  5.  So  Ex.  xxiv.  10,  "  And  they  saw  the  God  of 
Israel,  and  there  was  under  his  feet  as  it  were  a  paved  work  of  a 
sapphire  stone,  and  as  it  were  the  very  heaven  in  its  clearness"  ;  see  also 
Ezek.  i.  22. 

16.  According  to  the  Hebrew  punctuation  the  verse  runs, 

How  much  less  the  abominable  and  corrupt, 
Man,  which  drinketh  in  iniquity  like  water. 
The  word  "  corrupt,"  only  here  and  Ps.  xiv.  3  (liii.  3),  occurs  in  Arab, 
in  the  sense  of  "turned,"  sour,  of  milk;  it  is  used  in  Heb.  only  in 
a  moral  sense  (A.  V.  fdthy).  "Man"  here  is  said,  of  course,  of  man- 
kind, not  specially  of  Job,  and  Eliphaz  declares  that  his  greedy  avidity 
for  evil  is  like  that  of  a  thirsty  man  for  water.  The  words  strongly 
indicate  to  Job  the  view  which  Eliphaz  takes  of  him  and  his  sufferings, 
and  thus  naturally  form  the  transition  to  the  second  half  of  his  speech. 

17 — 35.     Eliphaz  instructs  Job  regarding  the  troubled  con- 
science AND  THE  DISASTROUS   FATE    OF  THE  WICKED   MAN. 

Having  sufficiently  rebuked  Job's  presumption  and  irreverence  Eliphaz 
proceeds  to  lake  up  his  principles,  which  "  did  away  with  the  fear  of 


w.  17—21.]  JOB,   XV.  113 

I  will  shew  thee,  hear  me;  i 

And  that,  which  I  have  seen  I  will  declare; 

Which  wise  meti  have  told  : 

From  their  fathers,  and  have  not  hid  //.• 

Unto  whom  alone  the  earth  was  given, 

And  no  stranger  passed  among  them. 

The  wicked  7}ia7i  travaileth  with  pain  all  his  days,  : 

And  the  number  of  years  is  hidden  to  the  oppressor. 

A  dreadful  sound  is  in  his  ears :  : 

God,"  V.  4.  They  are  such  principles  as  Job  gave  forth  ch.  ix.  22  seq., 
xii.  6.     The  passage  has  two  parts  : — 

First,  vv.  17 — 19,  a  brief  preface,  in  which  Eliphaz  states  that  his 
doctrine  is  that  of  the  wise  of  all  times  among  the  pure-blooded  races  of 
men,  who  have  never  been  contaminated  by  mixture  with  foreign  tribes, 
and  whose  traditions  are  uncorrupted. 

Second,  vv.  20 — 35,  the  doctrine  regarding  the  wicked  man  itself,  in 
which  there  are  three  points:  (i)  the  troubled  conscience  and  presenti- 
ments of  coming  evil  that  continually  haunt  the  evil  man,  vv.  20 — 24 ; 
(2)  the  cause  of  this,  his  defiance  of  God  and  sensual  life,  vv.  25 — 28  ; 
and  (3)  finally,  a  picture  of  his  punishment  and  disastrous  end, 
vv.  29—35. 

17.  /  will  shew  thee]  Eliphaz  assumes  a  high  tone  with  Job  ;  one  is 
entitled  to  do  so  with  a  man  in  his  unfortunate  condition. 

18.  The  doctrine  of  Eliphaz  is  no  novelty, — it  is  his  (v.  17),  but  it 
is  the  consistent  moral  tradition  of  the  wise  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. The  phrase  "have  told. ..and  have  not  hid"  means,  have  told 
openly,  it  is  matter  of  public  consent  and  teaching  among  them ; 
cf.  Is.  iii.  9,  where  the  same  words  occur. 

19.  And  it  is  a  tradition  pure  and  uncorrupted  by  admixture  of 
foreign  elements,  for  it  is  the  moral  wisdom  of  races  to  whom  alone 
the  land  has  been  given,  who  have  dwelt  always  in  the  same  seats,  and 
never  been  displaced,  and  among  whom  foreign  and  inferior  races  have 
never  penetrated. 

20 — 35.  This  doctrine  itself.  The  passage  gives  a  picture  of  the 
conscience  of  the  wicked  man  filled  with  presentiments  of  evil,  in 
opposition  to  such  statements  as  that  of  Job,  ch.  xii.  6,  and  to  his 
whole  claims  regarding  himself. 

20.  The  sense  is, 

All  the  days  of  the  wicked  man  he  is  in  pain. 
And  the  number  of  years  that  are  laid  up  for  the  oppressor, 
i.e.,  constantly  and  throughout  his  whole  life,  as  long  as  it  endures,  the 
wicked  man  is  in  pain  (or,  torments  himself).     The  word  "laid  up" 
means   appointed,   reserved,  for  the  oppressor.     This  is  said  against 
Job's  statement,  xii.  6,  that  the  tents  of  robbers  were  in  peace. 

21.  A  dreadful  sou  fid]  A  sound  of  (errors  ;  he  continually  thinks  he 
hears  the  sound  of  coming  destruction. 

JOB  8 


114  JOB,   XV.  [vv.  22—27. 

In  prosperity  the  destroyer  shall  come  upon  him. 

He  believeth  not  that  he  shall  return  out  of  darkness, 

And  he  is  waited  for  of  the  sword. 

He  wanderetlr  abroad  for  bread,  saying,  Where  is  it  ? 

He  knoweth  that  the  day  of  darkness  is  ready  at  his  hand. 

Trouble  and  anguish  shall  make  him  afraid; 

They  shall  prevail  against   him,  as  a  king  ready  to   the 

battle. 
For  he  stretcheth  out  his  hand  against  God, 
And  strengtheneth  himself  against  the  Almighty. 
He  runneth  upon  him,  even  on  his  neck, 
Upon  the  thick  bosses  of  his  bucklers : 
Because  he  covereth  his  face  with  his  fatness, 

in  prosperity  tlie  destroyer  shall  come\  A  picture  of  the  wicked  man's 
anticipations. 

22.  return  otit  of  darkness"]  "  Darkness  "  is  calamit\',  and  the  words 
mean  that  the  wicked  man  anticipates  a  calamity  which  shall  be  final, 
and  from  which,  when  it  befals  him,  there  shall  be  no  escape. 

Ae  is  watted  /or  of  the  sword]  So  he  feels  in  regard  to  himself;  he  is 
marked  out  for  the  sword,  i.e.,  the  hostile  sword  or  the  avenging  sword 
of  God,  ch.  xix.  29  ;  Is.  xxxi.  8. 

23.  He  anticipates  the  time  when  he  shall  be  a  hungry  wanderer, 
roving  in  search  of  bread  and  crying.  Where  is  it  ?  The  picture  of  the 
rich  oppressor  tormented  by  visions  of  famine  is  very  graphic. 

ready  at  hand]  Or,  at  his  side ;  the  dark  day  of  calamity  stands 
constantly  beside  him  ready  to  envelop  him  in  its  shadows.  Such 
is  his  own  foreboding  ("  he  knows  "). 

24.  shall  make  him  afraid]  Rather,  make  him  afraid. 
ready  to  the  battle]  Fully  prepared  and  therefore  irresistible. 

25 — 28.  Reason  of  these  terrors  of  conscience  and  presentiments 
of  evil — his  defiance  of  heaven  and  sensual  life. 

25.  he  streteheth  out]  Rather,  stretched.  The  tenses  in  the  following 
verses  would  all  be  better  put  in  the  past,  as  they  describe  either 
distinct  or  continued  past  actions.  So  strengthened,  or  emboldened 
himself,  lit.  behaved  himself  mightily  (Is.  xlii.  13  margin),  or,  proudly. 

26.  The  whole  verse  means, 

He  ran  upon  him  with  stiff  neck. 
With  the  thick  bosses  of  his  bucklers. 
The  words  describe  the  wicked  man's  demeanour  towards  God.  The 
figure  is  that  of  a  warrior  making  an  assault.  The  Ileb.  is  "he  ran 
upon  him  with  neck,"  Vulg.,  erecto  collo,  cf.  Ps.  Ixxv.  5.  The  "bosses" 
are  the  convex  sides  of  the  bucklers,  the  sides  turned  to  the  foe,  who 
here  is  God. 

27.  he  cove7-eth]  Rather,  he  covered  ;  and  similarly,  he  made  collops. 
The  words  express  the  idea  of  Hilling  into  a  brutish  Ikbhliness,  which 


vv.  28— 32.]  JOB,   XV.  T15 

And  makelh  collops  of  fat  on  his  flanks. 

And  he  dwelleth  in  desolate  cities,  28 

And  in  houses  which  no  man  inhabiteth, 

Which  are  ready  to  become  heaps. 

He  shall  not  be  rich,  neither  shall  his  substance  continue,  29 

Neither  shall  he  prolong  the  perfection  thereof  upon  the 

earth. 
He  shall  not  depart  out  of  darkness;  3° 

The  flame  shall  dry  up  his  branches, 
And  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth  shall  he  go  away. 
Let  not  him  that  is  deceived  trust  in  vanity:  31 

For  vanity  shall  be  his  recompence. 
It  shall  be  accomplished  before  his  time,  32 

causes  insensibility  to  all  that  is  spiritual  and  resistance  of  it,  cf.  Deut. 
xxxii.  15  ;  Ps.  Ixxiii.  7. 

28.  and  he  dwelleth']  and  lie  dwelt. 

which  no  niati  inhabitclh\  whicli  should  not  be  inhabited. 

are  ready  to  beLO>uc\  which  were  destined  to  be  heaps.  The  idea 
seems  to  be  that  the  wicked  man  settled  in  and  rebuilt  places  that  were 
under  the  curse  of  God,  and  destined  by  Him  for  perpetual  desolation. 
Such  places  in  the  East  are  those  on  which  God's  judgment  has  fallen 
because  of  some  great  wickedness  perpetrated  there.  To  settle  in  and 
rebuild  such  ruins  indicates  the  extreme  of  impiety,  cf.  Deut.  xiii.  13 
seq.;  Josh.  vi.  26  ;  i  K.  xvi.  34. 

29 — 35.     The  disastrous  end  of  the  wicked  man. 

29.  neither  shall  he  prolong  the  perfection]  Perhaps,  7teither  shall 
their  produce  bend  doivn  to  the  ground  j  the  figure  being  that  of  heavy 
grain,  or  branches  thickly  laden  with  fruit,  bending  down  to  the  earth. 
The  word  rendered  produce  or  gain  is  not  found  again  and  is  of  some- 
what uncertain  meaning. 

30.  Advance  on  v.  29,  describing  the  sinner's  actual  destruction. 
The  figures  are  common  ;  on  darkness,  cf.  vv.  22 — 23  ;  ik^t  flame  is  the 
scorching  sun  or  glowing  wind  ;  breath  of  his  mouth,  i.e.,  God's  mouth, 
cf.  ch.  iv.  9. 

31.  The  verse  reads. 

Let  him  not  trust  in  vanity :   he  is  deceived  : 

For  vanity  shall  be  his  recompence. 
Similarly,  "they  that  plow  iniquity  reap  the  same,"  ch.  iv.  8;  v.  r.^. 
Eliphaz  returns  as  in  other  passages  to  his  former  speech.  "Vanity" 
or  evil  means  both  wickedness  (first  clause)  and  calamity  or  trouble 
(second  clause).  The  word  "recompence"  means  exchange,  that  re- 
ceived in  barter  or  return. 

32.  Before  his  time]  lit.  before  his  day,  that  is,  the  natural  day  of  his 
death,  cf.  ch.  xxii.  16  ;  and  the  clause  means,  in  the  midst  of  his  years 
(Ps.  Iv.  23)  his  recompence,  or  exchange,  is  fulfilled  and  goes   into 


Ii6  JOB,  XV.  XVI.— XVII.  [vv.  33— 35. 

And  his  branch  shall  not  be  green. 

He  shall  shake  off  his  unripe  grape  as  the  vine, 

And  shall  cast  off  his  flower  as  the  olive. 

For  the  congregation  of  hypocrites  shall  be  desolate, 

And  fire  shall  consume  the  tabernacles  of  bribery. 

They  conceive  mischief,  and  bring  forth  vanity. 

And  their  belly  prepareth  deceit, 

accomplishment — he  is  cut  off.  The  words  might  also  mean  that  his 
reconipence  accrues  to  him  in  its  fulness.  In  the  second  clause 
"branch"  is  the  palm-branch,  or  crowning  tuft  (Is.  ix.  14),  and  the 
figure  is  that  of  such  a  tree  withered  and  dead. 

33.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  A.  V.  expresses  a  meaning  which  is  true  to 
nature  ;  the  vine  does  not  shake  off  its  unripe  grapes.  The  words  must 
rather  express  the  meaning  that  the  grapes  are  not  brought  to  maturity. 
The  word  "shake  off"  means  to  "wrong"  Prov.  viii.  36,  and  probably 
the  idea  is  that  the  vine  fails  to  nourish  its  grapes  and  leaves  them  to 
dry  and  wither.  This  carries  out  the  conception  of  v.  32.  The 
general  idea  of  these  verses  is  that  the  wicked  man  is  "subject  to 
vanity,"  his  branch  prematurely  withers  {v.  32),  he  puts  forth  grapes 
but  cannot  ripen  them,  he  flowers  but  he  fails  of  fruit.  His  endeavours 
in  all  directions  come  short. 

34.  The  same  truth  as  that  expressed  in  vv.  31  —  32  now  taught 
without  figure,  and  reduced  to  a  general  principle. 

congregation  of  hypocrites\  Or,  company  of  the  ungodly,  ch.  viii.  13; 
xiii.  16.  "Desolate"  is  barren  (ch.  iii.  7),  unfruitful.  The  households 
of  the  godless  are  unfruitful,  under  God's  curse  they  come  to  nought ; 
but  it  is  puerile  to  make  the  grapes  and  flowers  of  v.  33  figures  for 
children. 

tabernacles  of  bribery']  Bribery,  a  common  method  of  perverting 
justice  in  the  East,  is  here  a  general  name  for  wrong  and  injustice. 

35.  Finally  Eliphaz  condenses  into  an  expressive  figure  the  general 
doctrine  both  of  this  and  his  former  discourse,  namely,  that  suffering 
and  disaster  follow,  as  by  a  law  of  nature,  doing  evil  and  wrong.  In 
iv.  8,  "They  that  sow  wickedness  reap  the  same";  in  this  verse,  "They 
that  conceive  mischief  bring  forth  trouble".  The  word  rendered 
"vanity"  here  is  "affliction"  in  v.  6;  see  notes  there  and  on  iv.  8. 
Comp.  Ps.  vii.  14;  Is.  xxxiii.  11  ;  lix.  4. 

Ch.  XVI. — XVII.    Job's  Reply  to  Eliphaz. 

Job's  appeal  to  God  (ch.  xiii.  23  seq.)  remained  unanswered.  God  is 
resolved  to  hide  His  face  from  him.  His  friends,  instead  of  seeing  in 
his  appeal  to  Heaven  and  his  protestations  of  innocence  proof  that  he 
is  innocent,  regard  these  as  but  a  crafty  attempt  to  hide  his  guilt,  and 
as  the  most  convincing  evidence  of  it  (ch.  xv.  5,  6).  Thus  Job  beholds 
God  and  men  alike  turned  against  him  and  holding  him  guilty.  God 
of  the  world  and  of  the  present  inexorably  turns  away  from  him ;  and 


JOB,   XVI.— XVII.  117 


God's  turning  away  from  him  causes  men  to  avert  their  faces  too.  His 
isolation  is  complete.  And  to  him  who  had  once  stood  so  high  in  the 
estimation  of  men,  and  as  a  man  of  deep  liuman  feelings  yearned  for 
men's  sympathy  (cf.  the  picture  in  ch.  xxix),  the  thought  comes  home 
with  a  crushing  effect.  This  is  the  new  thought  in  Job's  mind,  and  it 
is  this  thought  that  gives  such  a  tragic  pathos  to  his  speeches  in  the 
second  cycle  of  debate.  In  the  first  circle  of  speeches  it  is  God's 
enmity  alone  of  which  Job  complains  (ch.  vi.  4,  &c.),  but  now  there  is 
added  to  this  the  universal  alienation  (ch.  xvi.  7)  and  abhorrence  of 
mankind.  This  feeling  gives  tone  to  all  his  speeches,  and  in  ch.  xix., 
which  forms  the  climax  of  this  division,  finds  its  fullest  expression  in 
the  words.  Pity  me,  pity  me,  O  ye  my  friends,  why  do  ye  persecute  me 
like  God?  {t/v.  21,  22,  cf.  v.  13  Sc-t/.).  And  this  overmastering  feeling 
forces  its  way  to  expression  almost  in  spite  of  him  (xvi.  6)  in  the  first 
part  of  the  present  speech  (w.  7 — 17). 

Nothing  now  remains  to  him  but  his  own  sense  of  his  innocence; 
and  to  this  he  clings  all  the  more  tenaciously.  He  shall  never  be 
acknowledged  in  this  life ;  he  shall  die  under  God's  hand  and  go  down 
to  the  grave  numbered  with  the  transgressors,  for  the  hopes  which  the 
friends  held  out  of  restoration  were  but  the  veriest  folly  (xvi.  22  seq., 
xvii.  10  seq.).  But  it  is  a  martyr's  death  that  he  shall  die.  And  so 
strong  is  his  sense  of  his  innocence  that  he  rises  to  the  assurance  that  it 
cannot  remain  unrecognised  for  ever.  His  innocent  blood  will  appeal 
unto  heaven  with  an  unceasing  cry  till  it  finds  a  response  (xvi.  18).  And 
even  now  he  has  a  Witness  who  will  testify  for  him,  even  God  as  He  is  in 
Himself  in  heaven.  And  to  this  Witness  he  makes  his  appeal.  Men 
mock  him,  but  he  lifts  his  tearful  face  (xvi.  20)  to  God,  God  as  He  is  in 
truth  and  as  He  must  reveal  himself  in  the  future,  begging  that  He  would 
uphold  his  right  with  God,  who  now  is  unjustly  bringing  him  to  death, 
and  do  justice  between  him  and  his  fellows,  whose  suspicions  so  cnielly 
wrong  him  (xvi.  21,  xix.  3).  And  if  he  may  not  ask  or  expect  (xiii. 
18  seq.)  that  God  would  appear  for  him  in  this  life,  yet  he  will  beseech 
God  to  give  him  some  pledge  even  here,  that  afterwards,  when  he  shall 
have  gone  the  way  whence  he  shall  not  return,  He  will  make  his  inno- 
cence to  appear  (xvi.  22,  xvii.  3). 

The  Discourse  consists  of  four  somewhat  unequal  sections  : — 

First,  w.  I — 5,  Job  expresses  his  weariness  of  his  friends'  monoton- 
ous speeches,  which  contained  nothing ;  and  justifies  against  the  com- 
plaint of  Eliphaz  (xv.  11)  his  rejection  of  them. 

Second,  vv.  6 — 17,  he  gives  a  touching  picture  of  his  sorrowful 
isolation,  and  of  the  enmity  with  which  God  and  men  pursued  him, 
though  he  was  innocent  of  all  wrong. 

Third,  zw.  18— xvii.  9,  but  this  cruel  fate,  which  both  brings  him  to 
death  and  affixes  to  him  the  stigma  of  wickedness,  cannot  for  ever 
prevail  over  him.  He  shall  die  under  the  imputation  of  guilt,  but  his 
blood  will  cry  for  reparation,  filling  earth  and  heaven  with  its  voice, 
until  he  be  vindicated.  He  has  a  Witness  in  heaven  who  will  testify 
lor  him,  even  God  as  He  is  in  heart  ;  and  he  appeals  unto  God  that  He 
would  do  justice  to  him  with  God  and  between  him  and  men — and  even 


Ii8  JOB,   XVI.  fvv.  I— 4. 

16  Then  Job  answered  and  said, 

2  I  have  heard  many  such  things: 
Miserable  comforters  are  ye  all. 

3  Shall  vain  words  have  an  end  ? 

Or  what  emboldeneth  thee  that  thou  answerest  ? 

4  I  also  could  speak  as  ye  do  : 

If  your  soul  were  in  my  soul's  stead, 
I  could  heap  up  words  against  you, 
And  shake  mine  head  at  you. 

that  He  would  not  let  him  die  without  some  token  to  this  effect  (xvi.  2 1, 
xvii.  3). 

Fourth,  w.  10 — 16,  coming  back  to  what  is  the  ground  tone  of  this 
speech,  his  certainty  of  a  speedy  death  under  God's  hand,  Job  repu- 
diates as  mere  folly  the  glowing  hopes  of  restoration  in  this  life  which 
liis  friends  held  out  to  him.  He  knows  better ;  he  shall  die,  his  hope 
ij  in  the  grave. 

Ch.  xvi.  1 — 5.  Job  expresses  his  weariness  of  the  monotony  of  his 
friends'  speeches,  and  rejects  their  consolation,  which  is  only  that  of  the 

lip- 

2.  matty  such  things]  Job  cannot  help  expressing  his  impatience  of 
the  sameness  and  the  amount  of  his  friends'  talk,  and  its  uselessness  or 
even  worse. 

T?iise7-able  co9nforters']  The  margin  is,  troublesome  comforters,  lit.  com- 
forters of  trouble,  whose  comfort  brings  no  ease  but  only  more  trouble. 
The  words  are  a  reply  to  the  query  of  Kliphaz,  Are  the  comforts  of  God 
too  small  for  thee?  xv.  11.  Their  comforts  were  all  founded  on  a  false 
assumption  of  his  guilt,  and  contained  the  condition  of  his  repentance. 
Such  words  only  increased  his  perplexity  and  misery. 

3.  Shall  vain  words  have  an  end]  lit.  is  there  any  end  to  words  of 
wind?  To  retort  their  charge  of  "  windy  knowledge  "  (ch.  xv.  ■2),  Job 
cannot  help  fearing  that  there  is  no  end  to  such  empty  harangues  on 
their  side,  though  he  cannot  imagine  what  provokes  them  to  reply 
instead  of  letting  the  controversy  drop,  as  he  had  long  ago  besought 
them  (ch.  xiii.  5).     For  emboldeneth  provoketh  is  better. 

4.  5.  Job  then,  with  the  supercilious  contempt  peculiar  to  him  and 
in  justification  of  his  rejection  of  their  "comfort,"  holds  up  a  picture  of 
it  before  them  :  their  method  is  not  a  difficult  one,  he  also  could  adopt 
it,  if  his  case  were  theirs  ;  he  could  shake  his  head  over  them  and  give 
them  lip-comfort  enough. 

4.  /  could  heap  up  zuords]  Rather,  I  could  compose  words.  By 
"composing"  or  joining  together  words  Job  means  making  formal, 
artificial  and  heartless  speeches  ;  cf.  the  string  of  traditional  sayings  put 
together  by  Eliphaz,  ch.  xv.  20  seq. 

shake  mine  head  at  von]  "  A  gesture  of  astonishment,  as  much  as  to 
say  '  Eh  !  1  would  not  have  thought  that  the  pious  man,  as  it  appears 


V.  5.]  JOB,  XVI.  119 

But  I  would  strengthen  you  with  my  mouih,  ; 

And  the  moving  of  my  hps  should  asswage  your  grief. 

from  his  misfortunes,  had  been  so  great  a  sinner'  "  (Hitzig),  cf.  Ps.  xxii. 
7,  Is.  xxxvii.  22. 

5.     The  verse  no  doubt  carries  on  the  idea  of  the  preceding : 
I  could  strengthen  you  with  my  mouth, 
And  the  condolence  of  my  lips  could  assuage  your  grief. 
The  emphasis  falls  on  mouth  and  li/>s.    Job  could  give  them  lip-comfort 
enough,  pour  out  abundance  of  words  in  whicli  lay  no  power  to  uphold 
the  heart  as  they  did  not  proceed  from  the  heart.     "  Condolence  "  as 
ch.  ii.  II. 

6 — 17.    Job  realizes  to  himself  his  new  condition  :  God  and 

MEN    combine   to    PURSUE   HIM    WITH  THEIR   ENMITY,  THOUGH 
HE   IS    INNOCENT   OF   ALL   WRONG. 

In  V.  5  Job  flung  back  with  scorn  the  "comforts  of  God"  which  the 
friends  proffered  him.  And  now  there  seems  to  occur  a  pause,  and  the 
excited  sufferer  looks  about  him  and  realizes  both  the  extremity  of  the 
evil  in  which  he  is  held,  and  the  new  and  unexpected  trial,  added  to  all 
others,  of  the  judgment  of  men  being  against  him.  And  he  hardly 
knows  whether  he  shall  speak  or  be  silent,  so  overcome  is  he  and  so 
unavailing  to  help  him  or  make  men  judge  truly  of  him  are  both  speech 
and  silence — if  I  speak  tny  grief  is  not  assuaged,  and  if  I  forbear  what 
am  I  eased?  v.  6. 

Yet  this  new  condition  in  which  he  realizes  that  he  is,  which  makes 
speech  useless,  forces  him  to  speak,  and  he  sets  before  himself  in  an 
excited  soliloquy  the  combined  enmity  to  him  of  men  and  God. 

First,  vv.  7 — II,  he  realizes  to  himself  the  complete  estrangement 
from  him  of  all  familiar  friends  ;  God's  enmity  to  him  has  turned  men 
also  into  foes  (vv.  7,  8).  This  combined  enmity  of  God  and  men  is 
represented  under  what  seems  the  figure  of  a  creature  hunted  by  one 
great  lion-like  assailant,  leading  on  a  host  of  minor,  ignobler  foes. 
The  chief  adversary  is  first  described,  his  rending  anger,  and  gnashing 
teeth,  and  flashing  eyes  (v.  9) ;  and  then  the  pell-mell  rout  of  baser  foes 
that  howled  behind  him,  their  open  mouth  and  shameless  gestures, 
and  full  cry  after  the  prey,  which  is  flung  over  into  their  hands 
{w.  10,  11). 

Second,  vv.  12 — 17,  then  the  hostility  of  God  Himself  is  particu- 
larly dwelt  upon  in  graphic  figures,  which  express  its  unexpected  sud- 
denness, its  violence  and  destructiveness.  One  figure  is  that  of  a  man 
suddenly  grasped  by  another  of  overwhelming  strength  and  tossed 
about  and  dashed  to  pieces  {v.  12).  Then  the  figure  changes,  and  this 
shattered  frame  is  set  up  as  a  mark,  and  God's  arrows  hiss  around  him 
and  split  his  reins  and  pour  out  his  life  to  the  ground  [v.  13).  Again 
the  figure  changes,  and  this  body  seems  some  fair  edifice  or  fort  which 
God  dismantles  by  breach  upon  breach  till  it  lies  a  sorrowful  ruin 
{v.  14).     And  finally  the  condition  of  humiliation  to  which  the  sufferer 


I20  JOB,   XVI.  [vv.  6— lo. 

5      Though  I  speak,  my  grief  is  not  asswaged: 

And  t/ioi/i^h  I  forbear,  what  am  I  eased  ? 
7      But  now  he  hath  made  me  weary: 

Thou  hast  made  desolate  all  my  company. 
3      And  thou  hast  filled  me  with  wrinkles,  which  is  a  witness 
against  vie  : 

And  my  leanness  rising  up  in  me 

Beareth  witness  to  my  face. 
)      He  teareth  me  in  his  wrath,  who  hateth  me: 

He  gnasheth  upon  me  with  his  teeth; 

Mine  enemy  sharpeneth  his  eyes  upon  me. 
3      They  have  gaped  upon  me  with  their  mouth; 

is  brought  is  described ;  and  all  this  befell  him  though  he  had  done  no 
wrong  [vv.  15 — 17). 

6.  my  grief '\  i.e.  my  pain ;  see  on  ch.  ii.  13. 

■what  am  I  eased'\  lit.  as  margin,  what  (of  my  pain  or  trouble)  goclh 
from  me? 

7.  made  me  wearyl  i.e.  exhausted  me',  and  now  describes  the  new 
situation  which  he  realizes.  The  second  clause  indicates  in  what  way 
he  had  been  wearied  or  exhausted,  all  his  "company,"  his  familiar 
friends,  all  on  whom  he  could  rely,  or  hope  in,  had  been  removed 
from  him,  and  turned  into  his  enemies  and  haters,  cf  ch.  xix.  13 — ■ 
19;  every  resource  was  taken  from  him,  cf.  ch.  xv.  34.  In  the  first 
clause  he  is  God,  to  whom  as  his  emotion  rises  the  speaker  turns 
directly  in  the  second  clause — thou  hast  made  desolate. 

8.  The  verse  reads, 

Thou  hast  laid  hold  of  me,  and  it  is  become  a  witness  against  me  ; 

And  my  leanness  riseth  up  against  me ;  it  beareth  witness  to 
my  face. 
By  God's  seizing  or  laying  hold  of  him  Job  means  his  afflictions.  These 
afflictions  sent  by  God  were  assumed  by  all  to  be  witnesses  of  his  guilt ; 
his  emaciation  from  disease  rose  up  and  testified  to  his  face  that  he  was 
a  sinner.  Such  was  the  construction  all  men  put  on  his  calamities,  and 
under  this  impression  they  all  turned  away  from  him,  thinking  him  one 
stricken  of  God  and  afflicted  (Is.  liii.  4).  See  on  ch.  i.  11,  and  cf.  Is. 
iii.  9. 

9.  Picture  of  God's  hostility  to  him.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  beast 
of  prey. 

who  hateth  me]  lit.  a7td  hateth  me,  or,  and  is  hostile  to  me,  i.e. 
assailcth  me.  The  picture  of  the  lion-like  assailant,  his  rending  fury, 
and  gnashing  teeth,  and  flashing  eyes,  is  graphic. 

10.  Picture  of  the  hostility  of  men — the  pack  of  petty  foes  that  howl 
at  the  heels  of  his  greater  enemy. 

have  gaped]  Rather,  they  gape.  Similarly,  they  smite.  The  figm-e 
of  wild  beasts  is  not  strictly  maintained,  but  passes  in  the  second  clause 


vv.  11-15.]  JOB,  XVI.  121 

They  have  smitten  me  upon  the  cheek  reproachfully; 

They  have  gathered  themselves  together  against  me. 

God  hath  delivered  me  to  the  ungodly, 

And  turned  me  over  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked. 

I  was  at  ease,  but  he  hath  broken  me  asunder: 

He  hath  also  taken  me  by  my  neck,  and  shaken  me  to 

pieces, 
And  set  me  up  for  his  mark. 
His  archers  compass  me  round  about, 
He  cleaveth  my  reins  asunder,  and  doth  not  spare; 
He  poureth  out  my  gall  upon  the  ground. 
He  breaketh  me  with  breach  upon  breach, 
He  runneth  upon  me  like  a  giant. 
I  have  sewed  sackcloth  upon  my  skin, 

into  the  reality.  The  gestures  described  are  those  of  contempt  and 
destructive  hatred,  see  Ps.  xxii.  13,  Is.  Ivii.  4,  Mic.  v.  1,  Lam.  iii.  30; 
cf.  John  xviii.  22,  xix.  3,  Acts  xxiii.  2. 

they  hai'e  gathered  themselves']  they  gather.  The  phrase  means  pro- 
bably that  they  fling  themselves  in  one  body  upon  him,  they  combine 
in  their  attack  against  him. 

H.  hath  delivered]  delivereth.  Similarly,  turncth  or  casteth  me 
into.  By  the  "ungodly"  Job  does  not  mean  his  friends,  but  the  low 
rabble  of  men,  such  as  are  described  in  ch.  xxx. 

12 — 14.  More  particular  description  of  the  hostile  attack  of  God,  its 
unexpectedness  and  destructiveness. 

12.  The  figure  of  a  man  seized  by  another  of  overwhelming  strength 
and  dashed  to  pieces.  This  attack  was  sudden  and  unexpected,  when 
Job  was  at  ease  and  in  security  cf.  ch.  xxix.  2  seq.  This  meets  what 
Eliphaz  said  of  the  forebodings  of  conscience,  ch.  xv.  20  seq. 

13.  The  second  figure — ^Job  has  been  set  up  by  God  as  a  mark  for 
His  arrows. 

his  archers]  Rather,  his  arrows,  cf.  ch.  vi.  4.  These  arrows  fly 
about  him  and  cleave  his  vital  parts  and  pour  out  his  life  to  the  ground. 
The  Oriental  speaks  of  the  gall  and  gall-bladder  where  we  might  refer 
to  the  blood  and  the  heart. 

14.  Another  figure,  that  of  an  edifice  or  fort  overthrown  by  repeated 
breaches,  and  stormed  by  warriors.  Giant  is  a  mighty  man,  or  warrior. 
Is.  xlii.  13. 

15 — 17.  Condition  to  which  the  sufferer  was  brought  by  these  de- 
structive attacks  of  God  in  His  hostility. 

15.  Putting  on  sackcloth  was  the  sign  of  mourning ;  it  was  worn 
next  the  skin,  2  Kings  vi.  30.  By  sewing  it  on  Job  indicates  that  it  is 
his  habitual  garment,  which  he  never  puts  off";  though  the  word  may 
also  suggest  the  closeness  with  which  it  adheres  to  his  shrunk  and 
emaciated  frame. 


122  JOB,   XVI.  [vv.  i6,  17. 

And  defiled  my  horn  in  the  dust. 

My  foce  is  foul  with  weeping, 

And  on  mine  eyeUds  is  the  shadow  of  death; 

Not  for  a/iy  injustice  in  mine  hands: 

Also  my  prayer  is  pure. 

defiled  my  horn]  The  word  "defiled  "  or  fouled  may  also  mean,  thrust 
my  horn  into  the  dust ;  the  sense  remains  the  same.  To  Hft  up  the 
horn  is  to  increase  in  power  or  eminence,  or  to  shew  a  proud  sense  of 
greatness  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  17,  24,  xcii.  10,  Ixxv.  4,  5);  to  thrust  it  into  the 
(lust,  or  to  foul  it  in  the  dust,  is  to  feel  the  sense  of  deepest  humiliation. 
Job's  once  honoured  head  which  he  held  erect  was  brought  down  low 
in  shame. 

16.  Aly  face  is  foul]  The  word  may  mean  inflamed,  from  a  root 
signifying  to  be  red  ;  or  the  root  of  the  word  may  mean  to  ferment,  and 
the  reference  be  to  the  swollen  and  blurred  appearance  of  the  face  from 
excessive  weeping.  InvohuUary  weeping  is  said  to  be  a  symptom  of 
Elephantiasis.  The  second  clause  expresses  another  effect  of  this 
weeping,  his  eyes  became  dim  (ch.  xvii.  7,  Ps.  vi.  7,  Ixix.  3),  and  there 
lay  thick  darkness  upon  them — though  this  was  also  a  sign  of  diminish- 
ing vitality  ;  comp.  Goethe's  dying  cry,  More  light ! 

17.  Not  for  any  injustice]  i.  e.  though  there  is  no  wrong  in  my  hands, 
cf  Is.  liii.  9.  The  first  clause  denies  that  he  had  done  anything  amiss 
in  action;  and  the  second  affirms  that  his  "prayer,"  i.e.  his  whole 
religious  walk  with  God,  was  pure.  The  last  words  give  a  reply  to  the 
insinuations  of  Eliphaz,  ch.  xv.  4,  and  the  former  to  his  allusion  ch.  xv. 
34- 

Cn.  XVI.  18 — XVII.  9.  Job,  dying  a  martyr's  death,  be- 
seeches God  that  He  would  uphold  his  right  with 
God  and  against  men,  and  give  him  a  pledge  that  He 
will  make  his  innocence  appear. 

In  w.  12 — 14  Job  described  the  terrible  hostility  of  God,  who  dashed 
him  to  pieces,  laid  him  in  ruins  and  poured  out  his  soul  to  the  ground — 
brought  him  unto  death.  Then  the  other  thought  rose  in  his  mind  that 
all  this  befell  him  though  he  was  innocent  both  in  life  and  in  spirit. 
Here  he  comes  to  the  point  at  which  he  always  loses  self-control — when 
he  realizes  that  in  spile  of  his  innocence  he  is  held  guilty.  This  is  an 
overwhelming  feeling,  and  under  it  Job  either  wildly  challenges  the 
rectitude  of  God,  as  in  the  first  cycle  of  speeches  ;  or  he  flings  off  from 
him  altogether  the  form  of  things  in  the  present  world,  and  forces  his 
way  into  another  region,  where  such  perversions  cannot  prevail  and 
where  the  face  of  God,  clouded  here,  must  be  clear  and  propitious. 
This  second  direction,  entered  upon  first  in  ch.  xiv.,  is  pursued  in  the 
present  passage,  and  reaches  its  highest  point  in  ch.  xix.  Already  in 
ch.  X.  Job  had  drawn  a  distinction  between  God  of  the  present,  who 
persecuted  him  as  guilty  tliough  he  was  innocent,  and  God  of  the  past, 
whose  gracious  care  of  him   had   been  wonderful ;    though  there   he 


V.  iS.]  JOB,   XVI.  123 

O  earth,  cover  not  thou  my  blood,  i 

And  let  my  cry  have  no  place. 

grasped  at  a  frightful  reconciliation  of  the  contradiction:  God  of  the 
present,  who  destroyed  him,  seemed  the  real  God,  and  His  past  mercies 
were  no  true  expression  of  His  nature  (see  on  x.  13  so/.).  In  ch.  xiv. 
Job  reached  out  his  hand  into  the  darkness  and  clutched  at  another 
idea,  a  distinction  between  God  of  the  present  who  would  pursue  him 
unto  death,  and  God  of  the  future — God  when  His  anger  should  be  over- 
past and  He  would  yearn  again  towards  His  creature,  the  work  of  His 
hands  (see  on  xiv.  13  st'q.).  This  God  of  the  future  was  God  as  He  is  in 
truth,  true  to  His  own  past  dealing  and  to  man's  conceptions  of  Him.  It 
is  on  this  line  of  thought  that  the  present  passage  moves. 

The  two  great  ideas  which  fill  Job's  mind  in  all  this  discourse  are, 
first,  the  certainty  of  his  speedy  death  under  God's  afflicting  hand  ;  and 
second,  the  moral  infamy  and  the  inexplicable  contradiction  to  his  con- 
science which  death  in  such  circumstances  carries  with  it.  The  first, 
his  speedy  death.  Job  accepts  as  inevitable,  and  he  cannot  restrain 
his  contemptuous  indignation  at  the  foolishness  of  his  friends,  who 
talk  as  if  something  else  were  possible  (xvii.  2 — 4,  10 — 16).  But  such 
a  death  under  the  hand  of  God  meant  to  Job  the  reprobation  of 
God  and  the  scorn  and  abhorrence  of  men.  And  it  is  against  this  idea, 
not  his  mere  death,  that  Job  wrestles  with  all  his  might.  This  is  the 
meaning  of  such  a  death  ;  but  it  cannot  be  that  God  will  allow  this 
obloquy  and  injustice  to  overwhelm  His  innocent  creature  for  ever.  His 
blood  will  utter  a  ceaseless  cry  for  reparation.  And  even  now  he  has 
in  heaven  one  who  will  witness  to  his  innocence.  And  he  prays  to 
God  that  He  would  maintain  his  right  with  God  and  against  men. 

It  is  impossible  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  Job  prays  or  hopes  for 
this  vindication  not  before  but  after  death.  For  he  contemplates  dying 
an  unjust  death  — his  blood  will  cry  for  vengeance.  His  present  unjust 
afflictions  will  bring  him  to  the  grave.  But  these  fatal  afflictions  are 
just  God's  witness  to  his  guilt.  Any  interference  of  God,  therefore,  to 
declare  his  innocence  cannot  take  place  in  this  life,  for  an  intervention 
of  God  to  declare  his  innocence,  all  the  while  that  He  continued  to 
declare  him  guilty  by  His  afflictions,  could  not  occur  to  Job's  mind. 

The  passage  xvi.  iS — xvii.  9  embraces  two  sections  similar  to  one 
another,  each  of  which  contains  a  fervent  appeal  to  God,  followed  by 
words  which  support  it,  xvi.  18 — xvii.  2,  and  xvii.  3 — 9. 

18.  God's  destructive  enmity  will  bring  Job  to  death,  though  there  is 
no  wrong  in  his  hands  and  his  prayer  is  pure  (xvi.  17).  This  feeling 
makes  him  appeal  to  the  earth  not  to  cover  his  innocent  blood.  He 
shall  die,  but  it  is  an  unjust  death,  and  his  blood  shall  lie  on  the 
bosom  of  the  earth  open,  appealing  to  heaven  for  vindication,  and  utter- 
ing an  unceasing  cry  for  justice. 

let  7ny  cry  have  no placc\  i.e.  no  resting  place,  where  it  should  cease 
and  be  dumb  and  penetrate  no  further.  His  "cry"  is  his  cry  for 
reparation,  as  in  Gen.  iv.  10  "The  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth 
unto  me  from  the  ground."    His  "blood"  is,  of  course,  a  figure;  it  does 


124  JOB,  XVI.  [vv.  19—21. 

Also  now,  behold  my  witness  is  in  heaven, 

And  my  record  is  on  high. 

My  friends  scorn  me : 

I)iii  mine  eye  poureth  out  tears  unto  God. 

O  that  one  might  plead  for  a  man  with  God, 

As  a  ixizxi  pleadeth  for  his  neighbour. 

not  imply  actual  bloodshed,  but  merely  a  wrongful  death  ;  but  it  cannot 
mean  anything  short  of  death,  because  the  figure  is  taken  from  a  violent 
death.  The  word  is  used  in  a  similar  way,  Ps.  xxx.  9,  "What  profit  is 
there  in  my  blood,  in  my  going  down  to  the  pit"?  where  death  at  God's 
hand  from  sickness  seems  referred  to.  On  the  idea  that  uncovered 
blood  is  blood  calling  for  reparation  see  the  remarkable  passage  Ezek. 
xxiv.  7,  8;  cf.  Is.  xxvi.  21. 

19.  If  his  blood  is  to  cry  with  an  unceasing  voice  for  reparation 
until  it  find  it,  there  must  be  some  one  to  take  up  the  cry  and  see 
reparation  made.  Job  is  assured  that  already  he  has  such  a  Witness 
and  sponsor  in  heaven.     The  verse  reads, 

Even  now,  behold  my  witness  is  in  heaven, 

And  he  that  voucheth  for  me  is  on  high. 
my  record\  This  is  inexact ;  the  word  describes  a  person  and  means 
precisely  the  same  as  Witness,  being  the  Aramean  equivalent  to  the 
Heb.  in  the  first  clause.  The  word  occurs  again  in  the  expression 
Jegar  Sahad\x\.\\2i,  heap  of  witness.  Gen.  xxxi.  47,  as  the  Hebrew  word 
does  in  the  corresponding  phrase,  Gal-'Z;V/.  It  is  difficult  to  find  a  cor- 
responding noun  in  English  ;  perhaps  advocate  or  sponsor  comes  pretty 
near,  as  there  was  no  difference  between  advocate  and  witness  in  the 
Hebrew  courts,  the  part  of  a  witness  being  to  testify  in  behalf  of  one 
and  see  justice  done  to  him,  as  z'.  21  describes  what  part  Job  desires 
his  witness  to  play  for  him.  "Witness"  does  not  mean  merely  one 
who  knows  Job  s  innocence,  but  one  who  will  testify  to  it  and  see  it 
recognised,  just  as  in  xvii.  3  surely  is  one  who  undertakes  to  see  right 
maintained. 

20,  21.  Job  now  names  his  Witness  and  states  what  he  hopes  for 
from  Him. 

20.  My  friends  scorn  me : 

Mine  eye  poureth  out  tears  unto  God, 

21.  That  he  would  maintain  the  right  of  a  man  with  God, 
And  of  a  son  of  man  against  his  neighbour. 

20.  scorn  me']  lit.  are  7ny  scorners,  or,  mockers — instead  of  being  my 
witnesses,  cf.  xii.  4,  xvi.  4,  5.  Because  his  friends  mock  him  and  no 
sympathy  or  insight  is  to  be  looked  for  from  them  (xvi.  7,  xvii.  4),  his 
eye  droppeth — he  appeals  with  tears  to  God  ;  cf.  Is.  xxxviii.  14.  What 
Job  desires  of  his  Witness  is  that  he  would  see  right  done  him  both 
with  God  and  with  men — with  God  who  wrongly  held  him  guilty,  and 
against  men,  his  fellows,  who  founding  on  God's  dealing  with  him  held 
him  guilty  also  and  were  his  mockers.      On  first  clause  oi  v.  21  cf. 


vv.  22;  1,2.]  JOB,  XVI.   XVir.  125 

When  a  few  years  are  come,  22 

Then  I  shall  go  the  way  whence  I  shall  not  return. 

My  breath  is  corrupt,  17 

My  days  are  extinct, 

The  graves  are  ready  for  me. 

Are  there  not  mockers  with  me  ?  s 

And  doth  7wt  mine  eye  continue  in  their  provocation? 

xiii.  15,  xxiii.  7.  The  "man"  and  "son  of  man"  to  whom  Job  refers 
is  himself;  there  is  nothing  mystical  in  the  phrase  "son  of  man,"  which 
means  merely  "man,"  Hebrew  poetry  requiring  for  its  parallelism  such 
variety  of  expression. 

22 — xvii.  2.  What  Job  sought  with  tears  was  that  God  would  cause 
his  innocence  to  be  acknowledged  by  God,  and  made  manifest  against 
men.  Now  he  adds  words  in  support  of  his  prayer,  or  gives  the  reason 
for  it.  He  so  prays,  for  here  in  this  life  he  has  no  hope  of  restoration, 
God's  anger  will  pursue  him  to  the  grave,  which  is  already  his  portion. 
22.  For  a  few  years  shall  come, 

And  I  shall  go  the  way  whence  I  shall  not  return ! 
xvii.  I.     My  spirit  is  spent, 

My  days  are  extinct. 
The  grave  is  ready  for  me  ! 
2.     Surely  mockeries  encompass  me, 

And  mine  eye  must  dwell  on  their  provocation  ! 
22.     It  is  doubtful  whether  Job  means  by  "a  few  years"  his  whole 
life,  or  the  years  that  are  still  to  run  of  it.     The  last  sense  is  fairest  to 
the  language.     His  disease  though  mortal  was  not  immediately  fatal ; 
but  at  least  his  days  were  consumed  "without  hope." 

1.  7ny  breath^  Rather  as  margin,  my  spirit  is  spent,  i.e.  con- 
sumed.    The  "spirit"  is  the  principle  of  life. 

the  graves  are  ready  for  me]  lit.  graves  are  mine  ;  the  meaning  being : 
the  grave  is  my  portion;  cf  v.  13  seq.  Coverdale  :  I  am  harde  at 
deathes  dore, 

2.  Are  there  not  mockers  with  me]  lit.  mockery.  The  interrogative 
form  is  possible,  but  more  likely  the  verse  is  a  strong  asseveration, 
uttered  in  a  tone  of  indignant  impatience.  The  connexion  indicates 
that  the  reference  is  to  the  illusory  hopes  and  promises  of  restoration  in 
this  life  which  the  friends  held  out  to  Job.  He  complains  that  he  is 
beset  with  such  mockeries.  This  seems  also  the  meaning  of  the  "provo- 
cation" on  which  his  eye  has  to  dwell,  though  in  this  their  offensive 
exhortations  to  repentance  may  also  be  included.  This  provocation  of 
theirs  his  friends  were  always  inflicting  upon  him,  troublesome  com- 
forters as  they  were  (xvi.  1).  The  true  state  of  things  Job  knows  very 
well  (vv.  I,  10 — 16);  their  delusive  hopes  are  not  things  he  can  hope 
for;  and  he  turns  in  impatience  from  them  with  a  greater  importunity  unto 
God,  and  appeals  to  Him  for  that  which  may  yet  be  attained,  and  which 
above  all  things  he  longs  for  {v.  3). 


126  JOB,   XVII.  [vv.  3,4. 

Lay  down  now,  put  me  in  a  surety  with  thcc; 

Who  is  he  i/iat  will  strike  hands  with  me  ? 

For  thou  hast  hid  their  heart  from  understanding : 

3 — 9.  New  appeal  to  God  that  He  would  undertake  for  Job  or  give 
him  a  pledge  that  he  would  cause  his  innocence  to  be  acknowledged  by 
God,  V.  3  ;  with  the  grounds  for  this  prayer  as  before,  zrj.  4 — 9. 

3.  The  verse  reads, 

Give  a  pledge  now  !   be  surety  for  me  with  thee  ! 
Who  is  there  (else)  that  will  strike  hands  with  me? 

Lay  down  noiv\  i.e.  lay  or  put  in  a  pledge.  Now  is  not  temiDoral,  but 
a  particle  of  importunate  entreaty. 

put  me  in  a  surely]  As  above,  be  surety  for  me  with  thee.  The  first 
expression,  give  a  pledge,  is  more  fully  expressed  by  the  second,  be 
surety  for  me  with  thee  ;  and  the  question,  Who  (else)  will  strike  hands 
with  me?  refers  to  the  gesture  or  action  by  which  suretyship  was  under- 
taken, viz.  by  striking  hands;  cf  Frov.  vi.  i,  xi.  15  (margin),  xvii.  18, 
xxii.  26.  First,  Job  beseeches  God  to  become  surety  for  him  ;  that  is 
something  to  be  done  in  the  present.  But  second,  a  suretyship  neces- 
sarily refers  to  the  future ;  though  undertaken  in  the  present  it  is  to  be 
fulfilled  later.  This  is  expressed  by  the  words  with  thee,  i.e.  with  God. 
Job  beseeches  God  to  undertake  now  that  He  will  cause  his  innocence 
to  be  yet  acknowledged  with  God.  The  same  division  of  God  into  two 
parties,  God  who  persecutes  Job  and  wrongs  him  and  God  who  be- 
comes surety  for  Job  and  undertakes  to  see  his  cause  riglited  with  God, 
appears  here  as  before  in  xvi.  21 ;  see  something  similar  Heb.  vii.  22. 
The  phrase  be  surety  for  me  \s  translated  undertake  for  vie.  Is.  xxxviii.  14, 
cf.  Ps.  cxix.  122;  and  it  might  be  made  a  question  whether  the  sup- 
pliant went  so  far  as  to  expect  any  visible  or  audible  sign  from  heaven. 

4 — 9.  These  verses  support  the  petition  in  v.  3.  If  God  will  not 
undertake  for  Job  none  else  will,  for  the  hearts  of  his  friends  have  been 
blinded.  This  thought  of  the  perverse  obstinacy  and  cruelty  of  his 
friends  leads  Job  again  to  a  gloomy  survey  of  his  whole  condition  (cf, 
xvi.  22 — xvii.  z).  lie  is  become  a  public  contempt  to  mankind  and 
brought  to  the  lowest  ebb  of  mortal  weakness  and  humiliation  {vv.  6,  7). 
Such  moral  perversions  on  the  earth  astonish  the  righteous  and  rouse 
them  to  indignation  against  the  wicked  in  their  prosperity  (7^.  8).  Yet 
they  will  not  permit  themselves  to  be  misled  by  such  things  to  err  from 
the  paths  of  rectitude.  Full  of  moral  terror  as  these  perversions  are 
the  righteous  will  in  spite  of  them  cleave  to  his  righteousness.  He  will 
feel  that  he  is  in  possession  of  the  only  true  good,  and  even  because  of 
them  and  though  he  sees  the  world  under  the  rule  of  God  given  over  to 
wrong,  he  will  wax  stronger  and  stronger  in  well  doing  {v.  9) — an 
astonishing  passage. 

4.  This  verse  answers  the  question  in  v.  3,  Who  (else)  will  strike 
hands  with  me?  None  else  will,  for  the  hearts  of  the  three  friends  and 
all  others  have  been  blinded,  and  can  take  no  true  view  of  the  sufferer's 
cause. 


vv.  5,6.]  JOB,   XVII.  127 

Therefore  shalt  thou  not  exalt  them. 

He  that  speaketh  flattery  to  his  friends,  ; 

Even  the  eyes  of  his  children  shall  fail. 

He  hath  made  me  also  a  byword  of  the  people;  < 

3xali  iheni]  i.e.  give  them  the  upper  hand  or  victory;  cf.  xlii.  7,  8. 
To  give  the  triends  the  upper  hand  would  be  to  give  an  issue  to  Job's 
cause  such  as  answered  their  expectations.  The  connexion  may  be  : 
give  a  pledge  now,  none  else  will,  for  thou  hast  blinded  them,  and 
having  blinded  them  thou  wilt  not  give  an  issue  that  meets  their  ex- 
pectations. 

5.  This  verse  is  very  obscure.  In  some  way  or  other  it  must  cany 
on  Job's  severe  reflection  on  the  conduct  of  his  friends  (v.  4),  and  ex- 
press it  in  a  stronger  way.  The  word  rendered  in  A.  W.JiatUry  usually 
means  a  portion  or  share,  that  which  falls  to  one  on  a  division  of  land, 
booty,  and  the  like,  or  that  which  is  one's  possession.  This  must  be 
the  meaning  here.      The  sense  may  be. 

They  give  over  (their)  fellow  for  a  prey, 

While  the  eyes  of  his  children  fail. 
The  expression  seems  to  be  of  the  nature  of  a  proverb,  which  illustrates 
the  cruel  treatment  to  which  men  are  subjected — they  are  given  over, 
lit.  assigned  or  declared,  as  a  prey  or  possession  to  others  (to  whom,  as 
debtors  and  the  like,  they  are  sold),  while  no  pity  is  had  for  their 
perishing  children.  The  language  is  general,  though  the  conduct  of 
Tob's  friends  towards  him  furnishes  an  illustration  of  the  truth.  The 
word  "fellow"  is  plur.,  "fellows"  oi  friends,  the  plur.  being  used  to 
express  the  general  idea;  the  sing.,  referring  to  each  individual,  appears 
in  his  children.  Job  regards  his  own  treatment  as  an  instance  of  similar 
ruthlessness,  and  his  friends  and  those  around  him  as  shewing  a  similar 
cruelty.  The  passage  expresses  a  sentiment  similar  to  that  in  ch.  vi.  27. 
Others  render,  he  that  betrayeth  (or,  denounceth)  friends  for  a  prey, 
7?iay  the  eyes  of  his  children  fail,  or,  the  eyes  of  his  children  shall  Jail. 
But  a  malediction  or  a  threat  on  Job's  part  does  not  suit  his  tone  at 
this  moment,  nor  the  general  scope  of  the  passage,  in  which  he  is 
drawing  a  gloomy  picture  of  his  own  treatment  at  the  hands  of  men  and 
God. 

6.  This  verse  reads, 

I  am  made  also  a  byeword  ox  the  peoples. 
And  am  become  one  to  be  spit  on  in  the  face. 
The  words,  /  am  made  might  mean,  as  A.  V.,  He  hath  made  me,  the 
reference  being  to  God.  Undoubtedly  Job  turns  away  here  from  men 
and  refers  to  a  broader  evil,  the  inexplicable  course  of  the  world  in 
God's  hand.  But  probably  the  allusion  to  God  is  made  in  this  indirect 
way.  By  the  "peoples"  Job  means  mankind  in  its  various  tribes,  for 
his  calamity  and  the  wickedness  that  was  inferred  from  it  would  be 
widely  known.  Comp.  what  is  said  by  Job  of  his  treatment  by  the 
debased  races  of  men  about  him,  ch.  xxx.  9  seq.;  and  see  a  similar 
statement  in  Bildad's  reply,  ch.  xviii.  20. 


128  JOB,   XVII.  [vv.  7— 9. 

And  aforetime  I  was  as  a  tabret. 
Mine  eye  also  is  dim  by  reason  of  sorrow, 
And  all  my  members  ore  as  a  shadow. 
Upright  men  shall  be  astonied  at  this, 
And  the  innocent  shall  stir  up  himself  against  the  hypocrite. 
The  righteous  also  shall  hold  on  his  way, 
And   he  that  hath  clean  hands   shall  be  stronger   and 
stronger. 


aforetime  I  was  as  a  tabret]  Rather  as  above;  lit.  I a7n  (must  be)  a 
spitting-in-the-face.  A  tabret  is  a  timbrel  or  tambourine  (comp.  tabeHng, 
i.e.  beating,  upon  their  breasts,  Nah.  ii.  7);  the  Heb.  word  topheth 
(spitting)  has  been  wrongly  assumed  by  the  A.V.  to  be  of  the  same 
meaning  as  toph  (timbrel). 

7.  The  sorrowful  condition  to  which  Job  was  reduced  by  his 
afflictions. 

8.  9.  Effect  produced  on  religious  minds  by  the  sight  of  such  suffer- 
ings inflicted  on  the  godly.  Such  moral  perversions  in  the  rule  of  the 
world  "confound"  religious  men,  and  rouse  their  moral  indignation 
against  the  wicked,  who  are  prosperous ;  cf.  similar  thoughts  Ps.  xxxvii. 
I  seq.,  Ixxiii.  2  seq.  The  word  this  refers  to  Job's  case  as  an  instance 
of  the  moral  wrong  that  is  observed  in  the  rule  of  the  world.  On 
"hypocrite,"  i.e.  godless,  see  ch.  viii.  13. 

9.  The  ri^s^hteoHS  also  shall  hold  on]  Or,  But  the  righteous  shall 
hold  on.  The  righteous  will  not  allow  themselves  to  be  misled  from 
the  path  of  rectitude  by  these  moral  wrongs  which  they  see  prevail  in 
God's  rule  of  the  world,  they  will  cling  in  spite  of  them  to  their  righteous 
life.  Nay  such  obscurities  and  wrongs  will  but  make  the  joy  which 
they  possess  in  righteousness  the  dearer  and  deeper,  and  instead  of 
faltering  they  will  be  (rather,  will  wax)  stronger  and  stronger.  Though 
Job  speaks  here  in  the  name  of  the  "righteous"  and  "clean  of  hands" 
it  is  his  own  sentiments  and  resolution  that  he  gives  expression  to,  and 
the  passage  is  perhaps  the  most  surprising  and  lofty  in  the  Book.  In 
ch.  xix.  25  Job,  conscious  of  his  innocence  and  assured  by  his  heart 
that  he  is  a  God-fearing  man,  is  enabled  to  reach  out  his  hand  to  grasp 
what  must  yet  in  the  future  be  the  solution  of  the  riddle  of  his 
present  life.  And,  no  doubt,  a  similar  thought  precedes  the  present 
passage  (ch.  xvi.  i%seq.).  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  this  thought 
is  present  to  his  mind  here.  Rather  he  is  again  completely  enveloped 
in  the  darkness  of  his  present  life,  the  awful  problem  of  which  con- 
founds him  and  all  religious  men.  But  no  mysteries  or  wrongs  shall 
make  him  falter  in  the  way  of  righteousness.  And  the  human  spirit 
rises  to  the  height  of  moral  grandeur,  when  it  proclaims  its  resolution  to 
hold  on  the  way  of  righteousness  independently  both  of  men  and  God. 

10 — 16.  Final  repudiation  by  Job  of  the  false  hopes  of  recovery 
which  the  friends  held  out  to  him.  lie  knows  better,  his  hope  is  in  the 
grave. 


vv.  lo— 12.]  JOB,  XVII.  129 

But  as  for  you  all,  do  you  return,  and  come  now: 

For  I  cannot  find  one  wise  man  among  you. 

My  days  are  past. 

My  purposes  are  broken  off, 

Even  the  thoughts  of  my  heart. 

They  change  the  night  into  day :  i 

The  light  is  short,  because  of  darkness. 

Turning  with  a  last  word  to  his  friends  Job  bids  them  renew  as  often 
as  they  chose  their  attempts  to  explain  his  condition,  they  should  only 
shew  themselves  ignorant  and  incapable  (z/.  10).  The  hopes  they  held 
out  were  vain ;  his  days  were  at  an  end  and  all  the  enterprises  and 
dearest  purposes  of  his  life  for  ever  broken  off  (vv.  11,  12).  His  hope 
was  in  the  grave,  where  alone  he  would  find  rest  {^v.  13 — 16). 

10.  do  ye  return.,  and  coi)ie\  Job  bids  them  renew,  if  they  please,  their 
attempts  to  solve  his  problem  or  deal  with  his  case ;  as  often  as  they 
did  so  they  only  revealed  their  incapacity  and  foolishness. 

for  I  cannot  Jind  one  zvise  man]  Rather,  I  shall  not  find.  Their  re- 
newed attempts  would  have  no  better  success  than  their  former  ones, 
they  would  be  found  by  Job  as  foolish  as  before. 

11.  Very  different  from  their  delusive  anticipations  was  the  truth 
in  regard  to  Job's  condition.  His  days  were  past,  and  his  life  with  all 
its  cherished  purposes  cut  off.  The  thoughts  of  his  heart  is  lit.  as  margin, 
the  possessions,  i.e.  the  enterprises  and  purposes  which  he  cherished 
and  clung  to  as  that  dearest  to  him. 

12.  This  verse  appears  to  be  a  description  by  Job  of  the  delusive 
and  foolish  proceeding  of  his  friends. 

They  change  the  night  into  day]  The  night  of  calamity  and  death  in 
which  Job  is  enveloped  and  into  which  he  is  entering  more  deeply  they 
change  into  the  day  of  life  and  renewed  prosperity.  While  in  truth  the 
shadows  of  the  final  night  encompass  Job  the  friends  are  for  ever  pre- 
tending that  the  bright  day  of  restoration  is  going  to  dawn  (cf.  ch.  v.  17 
seq.,  viii.  20  seq.  &c.).     The  second  clause  of  the  verse  is  obscure. 

the  light  is  shoH  because  of  darkness]  The  meaning  of  the  A.  V.  is  not 
easy  to  perceive.  The  words  most  naturally  continue  Job's  account  of 
the  representations  of  his  friends,  and  express  what  they  hold  out.  The 
fair  literal  rendering  is  either,  the  light  is  near  the  face  of  darkness  ;  or, 
the  light  is  nearer  than  the  face  of  darhiess.  The  light,  the  same  as  the 
"day"  of  the  first  clause,  is  life  and  prosperity;  this  the  friends  make 
out  to  be  near,  close  upon,  the  face  of  darkness — Job's  present  con- 
dition of  affliction.  The  other  translation,  "nearer  than  the  face  of 
darkness,"  gives  a  fuller  sense  to  the  phrase /«c^^  darkness.  By  this 
expression  Job  means  the  darkness  of  death,  whose  face  was  visible  and 
manifest,  so  close  was  it  upon  him. 

13 — 15.     The  natural  sense  and  connexion  of  these  verses  is  as  follows : 
13.      If  I  wait  for  the  grave  as  mine  house; 

If  I  have  spread  my  bed  in  the  darkness ; 

JOB  q 


I30  JOB,   XVII.  XVIII.  [vv.  13—16. 

If  I  wait,  the  grave  is  mine  house: 

I  have  made  my  bed  in  the  darkness. 

I  have  said  to  corruption,  Thou  art  my  father: 

To  the  worm,  T/ioii  art  my  mother,  and  my  sister. 

And  where  is  now  my  hope  ? 

As  for  my  hope,  who  shall  see  it  ? 

They  shall  go  down  to  the  bars  of  the  pit, 

When  our  rest  together  is  in  the  dust. 

14.  If  I  have  said  to  the  pit,   thou  art  my  father, 

To  the  worm,  thou  art  my  mother,  and  my  sister  : 

15.  Where  then  is  my  hope? 

And  as  for  my  hope,  who  shall  see  it? 

13.  If  I  wait,  the  gravel  Rather  as  above.  The  grave  is  in  Heb. 
Sheol,  the  place  of  the  departed.  The  word  wait  is  the  same  as  hope, 
V.  15. 

14.  to  co7-ruptioi!\  Rather  as  above,  the  pit,  or  grave,  Ps.  xvi.  10. 
The  words  father,  mother  and  sister,  expressing  the  nearest  relationship, 
indicate  how  closely  Job  now  feels  himself  connected  with  the  grave,  he 
wholly  belongs  to  it,  anil  he  greets  it  as  taking  the  place  of  all  related 
to  him  on  earth. 

15.  If  in  fact  and  in  his  own  feeling  Job  so  surely  belongs  to  death, 
where  is  the  brilliant  hope  which  his  friends  hold  out,  and  who  shall 
ever  see  such  a  hope  realized  ?  or,  who  can  perceive  a  trace  of  it?  His 
hope  in  truth  is  another  (v.  13). 

16.  The  truth  in  regard  to  his  hope  is  this,  something  different  from 
the  tale  of  his  friends, 

It  shall  go  down  to  the  bars  of  the  pit, 

Wlien  once  there  is  rest  in  the  dust. 
The  pit  is  in  Heb.  Shcol.  As  a  great  subterranean  prison-house  it  has 
bars  or  bolts,  for  it  has  also  gates,  ch.  xxxviii.  17;  cf.  Is.  xxxviii.  10, 
Ps.  ix.  13.  In  the  New  Test,  its  "keys"  are  spoken  of,  Rev.  i.  18. 
The  word  together  xaG.TiXi%  perhaps,  "at  the  same  time";  his  hope  shall  go 
down  to  the  grave,  when  at  the  same  time,  or,  "when  once"  he  himself 
finds  rest  in  the  dust. 

See  the  Additional  Note  to  ch.  xix.  in  the  Appendix. 

Ch.  XVIII.     The  Second  Speech  of  Bildad. 

Eliphaz  with  more  inwardness  than  his  fellows  had  made  the  punish- 
ment of  the  sinner  to  come  greatly  from  his  own  conscience  (ch.  xv.  20 
seq.,  cf.  Job's  reply  as  to  himself  ch.  xvi.  12)  ;  Bildad  attril)utes  it  to 
the  order  of  nature  and  the  moral  instinct  of  mankind,  both  of  which 
rise  up  against  the  sinner  (ch.  xviii  ) ;  while  Zopliar,  with  a  certain 
variation  on  both  views,  explains  it  from  the  retributive  operation  of  sin 
itself  (ch.  xx).  Interesting  points  of  contact  may  be  observed  between 
tliese  views  and  the  first  speeches  of  the  three  friends. 


vv.  I,  2.]  JOB,   XVIII.  131 

Then  answered  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  and  said,  18 

How  long  will  it  be  ere  you  make  an  end  of  words  ?  ^ 

Mark,  and  afterwards  we  will  speak. 

Several  things  in  Job's  last  discourse  deeply  offended  Bildad  : — 

1.  Job  had  used  very  hard  words  regarding  his  friends  ;  he  had 
called  them  annoying  comforters  (ch.  xvi.  2)  and  scomers  (ch.  xvi.  20), 
and  complained  of  being  beset  by  their  illusory  mockeries  (ch.  xvii.  2) ; 
and  said  that  God  had  sent  blindness  and  want  of  understanding  upon 
them,  and  that  there  was  not  one  wise  man  among  them  (ch.  xvii.  4 — 10). 

But  he  had  gone  further.  He  had  appeared  to  regard  himself  and 
them  in  their  treatment  of  him  as  types  of  two  classes — himself  as  the 
type  of  the  "upright"  and  "innocent"  and  "clean  of  hands"  (ch.  xvii. 
8,  q),  exposed  to  the  contumely  and  spitting  of  the  "peoples,"  the  "god- 
less" (ch.  xvii.  6—8)  and  the  ruthless  (ch.  xvii.  5). 

2.  Then  he  spoke  impiously  of  God,  saying  that  He  tore  him  in  His 
anger  (ch.  xvi.  9),  and  appealed  to  the  earth  and  nature  to  rise  up  on 
his  side  (ch.  xvi.  18). 

Such  things  provoke  the  personal  and  moral  indignation  of  Bildad 
alike.  It  seems  to  him  that  Job  holds  his  brethren  and  him  little 
higher  than  the  beasts  (although  it  was  Job  himself  that  was  destitute  of 
understanding),  and  that  in  his  extravagant  self-righteousness  he  flings 
them  away  from  him  as  belonging  to  the  class  of  the  "  unclean  "  (vv. 

2—3)- 

And  it  is  not  God  that  tears  him  in  His  anger ;  rather  in  his  out- 
rageous fury  he  is  tearing  himself.  And  does  he  suppose,  as  his  appeal 
to  the  earth  might  suggest,  that  the  eternal  flow  of  law  and  order  in  the 
universe  is  to  be  interrupted  for  his  sake — ^that  he  may  be  reputed  inno- 
cent, or  that  being  guilty  he  may  not  suffer  the  penalty  of  his  evil,  and 
that  his  principles  may  prevail  ?  {v.  4). 

This  question  naturally  leads  over  to  the  principal  theme  of  the  dis- 
course, the  certainty  of  the  destruction  of  the  wicked  through  the 
operation  of  the  fixed  order  of  the  world  and  the  moral  instincts  of 
mankind  (?'.  5 — 21). 

ere  you  make  an  end  of  words']  Rather,  how  long  will  ye  hunt  for 
words,  lit.  set  snares  for  words.  Bildad  begins  with  the  same  ex- 
clamation of  impatient  astonishment  that  he  used  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, ch.  viii.  2,  ko7u  long?  qiioiisqjte  tandem  abutere  patient ia  nostra? 
By  "hunting  for  words"  he  means  making  subtle  and  artificial  attempts 
at  finding  arguments — which  were  only  words.  He  probably  refers  to 
the  distinctions  which  Job,  in  wrestling  with  his  great  problem,  drew 
between  God  and  God,  and  his  appeals  to  the  one  against  the  other. 
Such  things  seem  subtleties  to  Bildad  and  but  the  theme  of  speakers; 
man's  destiny  in  the  world  of  God  is  a  thing  of  more  solid  stuff,  and  its 
principles  not  so  intangible. 

7?iark,  and  afterwards']  Rather,  understand.  Bildad  gives  back 
Job's  words.  Thou  hast  hid  their  heart  from  understanding,  ch.  xvii.  4. 
It  was  not  they  but  he  that  was  without  wisdom,  and  until  he  came  to 
some  admission   of  first   principles   talking   was   of    little   avail.      In 

9—2 


132  JOB,  XVIII.  [vv.  3, 4. 

Wherefore  are  we  counted  as  beasts, 

A7id  reputed  vile  in  your  sight  ? 

He  teareth  himself  in  his  anger: 

Shall  the  earth  be  forsaken  for  thee  ? 

And  shall  the  rock  be  removed  out  of  his  place  ? 

answering  Job  Bildad  uses  here  the  plur.  ye,  with  reference  no  doubt  to 
Job's  identifying  himself  with  the  class  of  righteous  sufferers  persecuted 
by  the  wicked,  ch.  xvii.  6  scq. 

The  circumstances  of  the  Author's  time  perhaps  shine  out  through 
these  allusions — the  collision  of  classes,  the  conflicting  claims  of  parties 
to  represent  the  true  people  of  God,  and  the  diverse  solutions  which 
various  minds  sought  for  the  hard  problem  of  the  national  affliction, 
which  turned  the  servant  of  the  Lord  over  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked 
(ch.  xvi.  11)  and  made  him  the  servant  of  rulers  (Is.  xlix.  7). 

3.  a7id  reputed  vile]  lit.  a7td  are  unclean.  Bildad  describes  what 
Job's  treatment  of  his  friends  suggests  to  him  as  Job's  idea  of  them. 
The  reference  is  to  the  passages,  ch.  xvii.  4,  10,  and  the  words  "clean 
of  hands  "  ch.  xvii.  9,  which  Job  had  used  of  himself  and  other  unjustly 
persecuted  men,  cf.  Ps.  Ixxiii.  22. 

4.  The  first  clause  must  be  rendered  in  English, 

Thou  who  tearest  thyself  in  thine  anger. 

The  Heb.  uses  in  preference  the  objective  form,  One  who  teareth  him- 
self in  his  anger,  shall  the  earth  be  forsaken  for  thee?  See  on  ch.  xii. 
4.  The  words  refer  to  ch.  xvi.  9 — it  is  not  God  who  tears  him,  it  is 
Job  who  tears  himself  in  his  insensate  passion,  cf.  ch.  v.  2. 

shall  the  earth  be  forsaken]  i.e.  depopulated  and  made  a  wilderness, 
where  no  man  dwells;  Lev.  xxvi.  43;  Is.  vi.  12,  vii.  16.  The  desolation 
of  the  earth,  which  God  has  not  created  a  waste  but  made  to  be  in- 
habited (Is.  xlv.  18),  and  the  removal  of  the  fixed  rock  from  its  place, 
are  figures  which  mean,  overturning  the  fixed  moral  order  of  the  universe 
established  by  God.  Bildad  asks  if  the  current  of  the  moral  order  of 
the  world  is  to  be  interrupted  or  turned  back  for  Job's  sake,  that  he  may 
escape  the  imputation  of  wickedness,  or  the  penalty  of  it,  and  that  his 
principles  may  be  accepted?  cf.  ch.  xvi.  18. 

5_2i.    The  disastrous  end  of  the  wicked,  in  the  moral 

ORDER   OF   THE   WORLD,    IS   CERTAIN. 

The  last  verse  naturally  led  over  to  this  idea,  which  is  the  theme  of 
the  speech.  The  idea  is  set  out  in  a  great  variety  of  graphic  figures, 
and  the  speech  is  studded  with  sententious  and  proverbial  sayings  in 
the  manner  of  the  speaker's  first  discourse  (ch.  viii).  The  history  of  the 
wicked  man's  downfall  is  followed  through  all  its  stages: — 

w.  5 — 7.       The  principle — the  sinner's  light  goes  out. 

vv.  8 — II.     The  progress  of  his  downfall. 

w.  12 — 14.  The  final  scenes. 

■vv.  15 — 17.  The  extinction  of  his  race  and  name. 

vv.  18 — 21.    Men's  horror  of  his  fate  and  memory. 


w.  5-9.]  JOB,   XVIII.  133 

Yea,  the  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out, 

And  the  spark  of  his  fire  shall  not  shine. 

The  light  shall  be  dark  in  his  tabernacle,  > 

And  his  candle  shall  be  put  out  with  him. 

The  steps  of  his  strength  shall  be  straitened, 

And  his  own  counsel  shall  cast  him  down. 

For  he  is  cast  into  a  net  by  his  own  feet,  1 

And  he  walketh  upon  a  snare. 

The  grin  shall  take  /lim  by  the  heel,  < 

A//d  the  robber  shall  prevail  against  him, 

5 — 7.  The  principle — the  sinner's  light  goes  out.  The  word  yea 
means  "notwithstanding" — in  spiteof  Job's  struggHng  against  the  law, 
the  law  remains  and  verifies  itself  universally.  The  bright  beacon  light 
on  the  sinner's  tent  goes  out,  and  the  cheerful  flame  on  his  hearth  shines 
no  more.  His  home  is  desolate.  The  word  "  light"  lends  itself  in  all 
languages  for  such  general  use,  as  the  Arab  proverb  says,  Fate  has  put 
out  my  light — extinguished  my  prosperity.  The  picture  here  however 
is  scarcely  to  be  so  generalized. 

6.  /lis  candle  shall  be  put  out  tvith  hivi\  The  meaning  is  either:  his 
lamp  shall  be  put  out  over  him,  the  idea  being  that  it  was  hung  in  his 
dwelling  above  him  or  shone  upon  him,  cf.  ch.  xxix.  3,  "when  God's 
lamp  shined  upon  my  head";  or,  his  lamp  shall  be  put  out  to  him,  the 
prep,  being  the  same  reflexive,  untranslateable  word  referred  to  on  ch. 
xiv.  22. 

7.  Another  figure  for  the  same  thought.  His  firm,  wide  steps  of 
prosperity  and  security,  when  he  walked  in  a  wide  place  (Ps.  iv.  i), 
become  narrowed  and  hampered.  Widening  of  the  steps  is  a  usual 
Oriental  figure  for  the  bold  and  free  movements  of  one  in  prosperity,  as 
straitening  of  them  is  for  the  constrained  and  timid  action  of  one  in 
adversity,  cf.  Prov.  iv.  12  and  Ps.  xviii.  36.  The  figure  hardly  describes 
the  consequences  of  the  sinner's  light  going  out,  it  is  rather  independent 
and  parallel  to  that  figure.     Cf.  ch.  xiii.  27. 

his  own  cou7iser\  The  evil  principles  that  guide  his  conduct,  ch.  x.  3, 
Ps.  i.  I.     These  inevitably  lead  him  into  calamity,  cf.  ch.  iv.  8. 

8 — H.  All  things  hasten  on  his  ruin;  the  moral  order  of  the  world 
is  such  that  wherever  he  moves  or  touches  upon  it  it  becomes  a  snare  to 
seize  him.  "  Snares  "  do  not  mean  temptations,  they  are  hidden  instil- 
ments of  destruction  that  seize  and  hold  the  hunted  creature.  His 
"  counsel,"  and  his  own  feet  {v.  8),  his  evil  nature  and  its  outcome,  his 
evil  conduct,  carry  him  into  these  snares — laid  for  wickedness  in  the 
constitution  of  things. 

9.  the  robber  shall  prevail]  Rather,  the  trap  layeth  hold  of  him, 
as  all  the  verbs  in  this  passage  should  be  put  in  the  present  tense. 
The  word  is  that  occurring  ch.  v.  5.  The  world  of  God  is  one  net- 
work of  snares  for  the  wicked  man,  he  walks  upon  snares,  in  the  field 
and  in  the  way  alike.     The  idea  that  the  world  is  a  moral  constitution 


134  JOB,   XVIII.  [vv.  10—14. 

The  snare  is  laid  for  him  in  the  ground, 

And  a  trap  for  him  in  the  way. 

Terrors  shall  make  him  afraid  on  every  side, 

And  shall  drive  him  to  his  feet. 

His  strength  shall  be  hunger-bitten, 

And  destruction  shall  be  ready  at  his  side. 

It  shall  devour  the  strength  of  his  skin: 

£ven  the  firstborn  of  death  shall  devour  his  strength. 

His  confidence  shall  be  rooted  out  of  his  tabernacle. 

And  it  shall  bring  him  to  the  king  of  terrors. 

is  very  prominent  in  the  Old  Testament,  a  mere  physical  constitution  of 
things  is  an  idea  unknown  to  it. 

11.  This  verse  does  not  seem  to  give  a  picture  of  the  sinner's  con- 
science, but  rather  of  his  consciousness  at  last.  The  preceding  verses 
described  how  he  walked  on  snares  unwitting  that  they  were  there;  now 
he  awakens  to  the  perception  of  his  condition,  he  feels  the  complications 
that  surround  him,  and  would  flee  from  the  terrors  that  he  has  come  to 
realize. 

and  shall  drive  him  to  his  feet]  Rather,  and  drive  him  away  at 
his  heels.     A  spectral  host  of  terrors  pursue  close  behind  him. 

12—14.  The  closing  scenes  in  three  steps :  his  strength  is  weak- 
ened; his  body  consumed  by  a  terrible  disease;  he  is  led  away  to  the 
dark  king. 

12.  hunger-bitten]  A  word  formed  like  "frost-bitten,"  "canker- 
bit  "  (Lear,  v.  3).  The  word  literally  means  "  hungry,"  and  the  figure 
expresses  the  idea  that  his  strength  shall  diminish  and  become  feeble,  as 
one  does  that  is  famished;  cf.  a  similar  strong  figure,  Joel  i.  12,  "Joy  is 
withered  away  from  the  sons  of  men."  On  the  figure  in  the  second 
clause  cf.  ch.  xv.  23. 

13.  The  verse  reads. 

It  shall  devour  the  members  of  his  body, 
Even  the  firstborn  of  death  shall  devour  his  members. 
The  subject  it  in  clause  one  is  the  "  firstborn  of  death  "  in  clause  two; 
cf.  a  similar  construction,  Judg.  v.  20,  "  they  fought  from  heaven,  the 
stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera".  "  Members  of  his  body"  is 
literally  \}[\t  pieces  ("parts"  ch.  xli.  ii)  of  his  skin.  The  firstborn  of 
death  is  the  strongest  child  of  death  (Gen.  xlix.  3) ;  or  else,  less  naturally, 
the  "deadliest  death,"  cf.  firstborn  of  the  poor  (  =  the  very  poorest)  Is. 
xiv.  30;  in  any  case  the  phrase  means  the  most  terrible  and  fatal  disease. 
The  Arabs  call  deadly  diseases  "  daughters  of  destiny  " — destiny,  as  the 
bacchanal  fatalist  sings. 

Ordained  for  us  and  we  ordained  for  it. 

14.  The  meaning  is. 

He  shall  be  plucked  out  of  his  tent  wherein  he  trusted. 
And  he  shall  be  brought  to  the  king  of  terrors. 


w.  IS— 18.]  JOB,  XVIII.  135 

It  shall  dwell  in  his  tabernacle,  because  it  is  none  of  his : 

Brimstone  shall  be  scattered  upon  his  habitation. 

His  roots  shall  be  dried  up  beneath, 

And  above  shall  his  branch  be  cut  off. 

His  remembrance  shall  perish  from  the  earth, 

And  he  shall  have  no  name  in  the  street. 

He  shall  be  driven  from  light  into  darkness, 

And  chased  out  of  the  world. 

In  the  phrase  "his  tent  wherein  he  trusted  "  Bildad  goes  back  to  his 
former  figure  of  the  sinner's  house  which  he  grasps  to  maintain  liimself, 
ch.  viii.  15.  The  "king  of  terrors"  is  death.  In  Ps.  xlix.  14  a  some- 
what different  figure  is  employed,  that  of  a  shepherd  :  The  wicked  "like 
sheep  are  put  in  Sheol,  Death  herds  them,"  of.  Is.  xxviii.  15.  Death  is 
personified  as  rex  treniefidiis,  Virg.  Geo.  IV.  469  (Hitzig);  there  is  no 
reference  to  Satan,  who  has  rule  in  the  realm  of  death,  Heb.  ii.  14,  nor 
to  any  mythical  personage  like  the  Pluto  of  classical  antiquity.  The 
last  scenes  of  the  sinner's  fate  have  been  described  :  he  sought  to  flee  from 
terrors,  he  is  brought  at  last  to  the  king  of  them.  Then  the  fate  of 
those  belonging  to  him  is  stated. 

15 — 17.     The  extinction  of  his  name  and  race. 

15.  The  sense  probably  is, 

There  shall  dwell  in  his  tent  they  that  are  not  his, 
Brimstone  shall  be  showered  upon  his  habitation. 
So  Conant  excellently.  The  two  clauses  of  the  verse  are  not  to  be 
taken  logically  together,  they  describe  the  destiny  awaiting  the  sinner's 
possessions  and  dwelling  under  different  conceptions — in  the  one  case 
they  pass  into  the  hands  of  strangers,  in  the  other  they  are  accursed  of 
God,  like  Sodom,  (Gen.  xix.  24)  and  Edom  (Is.  xxxiv.  9  seq-),  and  over- 
whelmed Mdth  a  rain  of  brimstone  from  heaven. 

16.  shall  his  branch  be  ait  off]  Rather,  Ms  branclies  shall  wither, 
see  on  ch.  xiv.  2.  The  tree  is  not  a  figure  for  the  sinner  as  a  single 
pereon,  but  as  the  centre  of  a  family,  widely  ramified  and  firmly 
established  (his  roots),  and  numerous  (his  branches).  These  all  perish 
with  him,  cf  Bildad's  former  plant-life  lore,  ch.  viii.  11  seq.,  i6seq. 

17.  perish  from  the  earth]     Rather,  from  the  land. 

in  the  street]  Rather,  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  word  means 
the  outlying  places  (marg.  to  ch.  v.  10),  as  opposed  to  the  cultivated 
land,  and  "earth"  as  a  word  expressing  wideness  and  distance  seems 
nearest  here. 

18—20.     Men's  horror  of  his  fate  and  memory. 

Bildad  now  introduces  the  moral  instinct  of  mankind  and  the  part  it 
takes  in  the  sinner's  downfall.  The  words  go  back  somewhat  on  the 
ideas  of  the  previous  verses. 

18  J/e  shall  be  driven]  \\t.  thej' shall  dri7>e  {or,  they  drive)  him.  The 
subject  is  mankind,  men;  and  the  sinner  himself  is  referred  to,  hardly, 
his  name  (v.  17). 


136  JOB,   XVIII.    XIX.  [vv.  19—21. 

He  shall  neither  have  son  nor  nephew  among  his  people, 

Nor  any  remaining  in  his  dwellings. 

They  that  come  after  him  shall  be  astonied  at  his  day. 

As  they  that  went  before  were  affrighted. 

Surely  such  are  the  dwellings  of  the  wicked, 

And  this  is  the  place  of  him  that  knoweth  not  God. 

19.  son  nor  nephr^v\  i.e.  son  nor  grandson.  So  the  word  nephew 
(Lat  nepos,  through  Fr.  neveii)  means  in  the  EngUsh  of  the  time — 

O  thou  most  auncient  grandmother  of  all, 
Why  sufTredst  thou  thy  nephews  dear  to  fall. 

Spans.  Fa.  Q.  i.  5.  11, 

(Michie,  Bible  Words  and  F/u-ases).  In  Gen.  xxi.  23  the  word  is  ren- 
dered son's  son.  The  Heb.  expression  is  more  general,  he  shall  neither 
have  offspi'ing  nor  descendant. 

20.  They  that  come  after  himi  The  word  "him"  must  be  omitted; 
the  expression  refers  to  the  later  generations  of  men,  as  they  that  went 
before  does  to  the  earlier,  those  nearer  the  sinner's  day,  but,  of  course, 
both  expressions  describe  generations  living  after  the  wicked  man. 
Others  take  the  two  phrases  to  mean,  they  of  the  West,  and  they  of  the 
East.  In  the  one  case  the  idea  is  that  men's  horror  of  his  memory  and 
fate  is  eternal,  lasting  through  all  generations ;  in  the  other  that  it  is 
universal, — both  in  the  West  and  in  the  East.  His  day  is  the  day  of 
his  downfall,  Ps.  xxxvii.  13;  Jer.  1.  27.  Job  had  complained  that  he 
was  made  a  "byword  of  the  peoples"  ch.  xvii.  6;  Bildad,  with  a  sin- 
gular hardness,  rejoins,  It  is  true,  the  deep  moral  instinct  of  mankind 
rises  up  against  such  a  man. 

Ch.  XIX.    Job's  Reply  to  Bild.\d. 

Bildad  wrote  under  the  picture  which  he  had  drawn,  these  are 
the  habitations  of  the  ivickcd,  and  held  it  up  before  Job.  It  was 
meant  for  him,  for  all  that  is  specific  in  it  is  borrowed  from  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  case.  The  terrible  distemper,  the  "firstborn  of 
death,"  that  consumes  the  sinner's  limbs,  is  too  plain  an  allusion  to  his 
leprosy  to  be  misunderstood  by  him  (z'.  13).  The  brimstone  that  burns 
up  the  sinner's  habitation  {v.  15),  though  there  may  lie  in  it  a  distant 
reference  to  the  cities  of  the  plain,  is  also  the  fire  of  God  that  fell  on 
Job's  cattle  and  their  keepers  (ch.  i.  16).  The  tree  dried  up  at  the  roots 
and  withered  in  the  branches  (t>.  16)  reminds  Job  easily  enough  of  his 
own  wasted  state  and  of  the  sad  calamities  that  had  blighted  his  home. 
The  horror  and  detestation  of  men  (v.  20)  is  but  a  picture  of  what  was 
passing  before  the  eyes  of  the  disputants,  and  is  a  touch  of  ruthless 
severity,  which  brings  Job  utterly  to  the  dust;  for  while  in  his  former 
speech  (ch.  xvi. — xvii.)  he  is  able  in  the  strong  sense  of  his  innocence  to 
resent  the  treatment  oilmen  he  is  here  wholly  broken  by  it  (ch.  xix.  21). 
Every  sentence  of  Bildad's  speech  carries  with  it  the  charge.  Thou  art 
the  man. 


w.  1, 2.]  JOB,   XIX.  137 

Then  Job  answered  and  said,  19 

How  long  will  ye  vex  my  soul,  3 

And  break  me  in  pieces  with  words  ? 

Against  this  application  Job's  whole  soul  protests.  Yet  he  realizes 
from  Bildad's  words,  more  clearly  than  ever  he  had  done  before,  his 
dreary  isolation,  God  and  men  being  alike  estranged  from  him,  which  he 
laments  in  most  pathetic  words.  But  so  profound  and  unalterable  is  his 
consciousness  of  his  innocence,  that  at  the  moment  when  he  has  entered 
step  after  step  into  the  thickest  darkness  he  makes  a  sudden  leap  out 
into  the  light,  and  rises  by  an  inspiration,  whether  from  above  or  from 
the  depths  of  the  human  spirit,  to  the  assurance  that  his  innocence  shall 
yet  be  revealed,  that  God  will  yet  publicly  appear  for  him,  and  that  he 
shall  see  God — and  he  melts  away,  overcome  by  the  joyful  anticipation. 

The  order  of  thought  is  well  marked : — 

First,  vv.  2 — 6,  some  preliminary  words,  as  usual,  of  a  personal  kind, 
though  these  are  here  fewer,  the  speaker's  mind  being  filled  with  greater 
things.  He  gives  brief  expression  to  his  impatience  of  his  friends'  dia- 
tribes, and  repudiates  the  inferences  they  drew  from  his  calamities  :  his 
calamities  were  due  to  God,  who  had  perverted  his  right. 

Second,  vv.  7 — 27.  This  reference  to  God  leads  over  to  the  theme  of 
the  whole  chapter,  which  is  nothing  but  God,  The  sufferer's  mind 
wrestles  with  his  thought  of  God — the  thought  of  Him  as  the  author  of 
his  present  terrible  fate,  from  which  he  rises  by  a  sudden  revulsion  to 
the  thought  of  Him  as  One  who  must  yet  appear  as  his  vindicator  and 
joy.     This  part  has  three  steps : — 

1.  vv.  7 — [2.  A  dark  picture  of  the  desertion  of  God  and  His 
terrible  hostility  to  him. 

2.  vv.  13 — 22.  Then  even  a  more  touching  complaint  of  the  alien- 
ation of  men  from  him — which  God  has  caused. 

3.  w.  23 — 27.  Hopeless  in  the  present  he  turns  his  eye  to  the 
future.  He  desires  that  his  protest  of  innocence  might  find  indelible 
record  in  the  rock,  that  the  generations  to  come  might  read  it.  Yet 
how  small  a  thing  that  would  be  to  him,  whose  chief  sorrow  lay  in  the 
alienation  of  God  from  his  spirit.  He  shall  have  more.  He  ktioios 
that  God  shall  yet  appear  to  vindicate  him,  and  that  he  shall  see  Him 
with  his  eyes — in  peace. 

Third,  w.  28 — 29.     Finally  he  adds  a  brief  threat  to  his  friends. 

Job,  forsaken  of  God  and  men,  and  without  hope  in  this 

LIFE,  rises  to  the  ASSURANCE  THAT  GOD  WILL  YET  APPEAR 
TO  VINDICATE  HIM,  AND  THAT  HIS  EYES  SHALL  SEE  HIM  ON 
HIS  SIDE  IN  JOY. 

2 — 5.  Job  expresses  his  impatience  of  his  friends'  words;  and  repu- 
diates the  inferences  of  his  guilt  which  they  draw  from  his  calamities, 
declaring  that  his  calamities  are  due  to  the  unjust  dealing  of  God. 

2.  There  is  more  than  impatience  expressed  in  the  words  vex  (afflict) 
and  "break  in  pieces";  the  words  suggest  the  crushing  effect  which 
the  friends'  insinuations  of  wickedness  had  on  Job's  spirit. 


138  JOB,   XIX.  [vv.  3— 8. 

These  ten  times  have  ye  reproached  me : 

You  are  not  ashamed  that  you  make  yourselves  strange 

to  me. 
And  be  it  indeed  that  I  have  erred, 
Mine  error  remaineth  with  myself. 
If  indeed  ye  will  vcx'^igxvS.y  yourselves  against  me, 
And  plead  against  me  my  reproach : 
Know  now  that  God  hath  overthrown  me, 
And  hath  compassed  me  with  his  net. 
Behold,  I  cry  out  <?/" wrong,  but  I  am  not  heard: 
I  cry  aloud,  but  there  is  no  judgment. 
He  hath  fenced  up  my  way  that  I  cannot  pass, 

3.  Ten  times  is  a  round  number  for  often.  Gen.  xxxi.  7;  Numb, 
xiv.  22. 

tnake yourselves  strange  to  me]  An  expression  of  uncertain  meaning, 
as  the  word  does  not  occur  again,  unless,  as  some  suppose,  it  be  found 
in  Is.  iii.  9.  The  meaning  may  be,  ye  wrong  me,  the  root  having  some 
resemblance  to  an  Arabic  verb  rendered  by  Lane  "  to  wrong,"  also  *'  to 
be  persistent  in  contention."     E\v.,  ye  are  unfeeling  to-aards  me. 

4.  In  this  verse  Job  must  mean  to  repudiate  the  offences  insinuated 
against  him.  The  precise  force  of  the  second  clause,  however,  is 
obscure.  It  might  mean,  "my  error  is  my  own  and  no  matter  for  your 
intermeddling";  or,  "  I  alone  am  conscious  of  it  and  you  can  know 
nothing  regarding  it," — in  either  case  a  mere  passing  rejection  of  the 
charges  of  his  friends.  Or,  "had  I  indeed  sinned  my  error  would 
remain  with  myself,  I  should  be  conscious  of  it,"  cf.  ch.  ix.  36.  Ewald's 
idea  that  the  "error"  which  Job  alludes  to  is  his  mistaken  hope  of 
judgment  and  righteousness  on  God's  part  is  less  suitable  to  the  con- 
nexion. 

5.  If  his  friends  mean  in  earnest  to  found  inferences  on  his  calamities 
then  he  will  tell  them  that  it  is  God  who  hath  brought  these  on  him 
unjustly  [v.  6). 

6.  Know  no7v\  Or,  as  we  say,  know  then.  Tiie  word  God  is  em- 
phatic. 

overthrown  me]  More  probably,  perverted  my  right  (z'.  7) ;  this, 
not  his  guilt,  is  the  explanation  of  his  afllictions.  By  his  reference  to 
the  "  net"  of  God  Job  repudiates  the  statements  of  Bildad,  ch.  xviii.  8 
seq.',  it  was  not  his  own  feet  that  led  him  into  the  net,  God  had  thrown 
it  about  him. 

7 — 12.     God's  hostility  to  him  and  destructive  persecution  of  him. 

In  V.  6  the  transition  is  already  made  to  the  account  of  God's  hos- 
tility. The  picture  is  sufficiently  graphic.  First  there  was  the  general 
feeling  of  being  entangled,  as  a  creature  snared. 

7.  This  drew  from  him  in  his  helplessness  cries  of  wrong,  which 
were  unheeded. 

8.  No  outgo  or  esca[)e  was  possible,  for  there  rose  a  wall  before 


vv.  9—14.]  JOB,   XIX.  139 

And  he  hath  set  darkness  in  my  paths. 

He  hath  stript  me  of  my  glory, 

And  taken  the  cwwn/rom  my  head. 

He  hath  destroyed  me  on  every  side,  and  I  am  gone : 

And  mine  hope  hath  he  removed  hke  a  tree. 

He  hath  also  kindled  his  wrath  against  me, 

And  he  counteth  me  unto  him  as  one  of  his  enemies. 

His  troops  come  together, 

And  raise  up  their  way  against  me, 

And  encamp  round  about  my  tabernacle. 

He  hath  put  my  brethren  far  from  me. 

And  mine  acquaintance  are  verily  estranged  from  me. 

My  kinsfolk  have  failed, 

him  if  he  would  move;  neither  was  there  any  outlook,  for  thick  dark- 
ness fell  close  about  him.  These  images  are  common  to  express  the 
extremest  perplexity. 

9.  Then  came  the  consciousness  of  the  meaning  of  his  calamities — 
they  were  evidence  that  he  was  a  transgressor.  God  took  thus  his 
crown  of  righteousness  from  his  head,  and  stripped  the  glory  of  godliness 
from  him,  cf.  ch.  xxix.  14. 

10.  He  hath  destroyed]  Rather,  he  breaketll  me  down ;  the  figure 
of  a  building.  In  the  second  clause  the  image  is  that  of  a  great  tree 
torn  up  by  the  roots,  whose  fall  is  pitiful.  The  words,  and  1  am  gotie, 
refer  to  his  inevitable  death  from  his  disease,  which  he  regards  as  already 
virtually  come,  as  is  expressed  in  the  next  clause — his  hope  (of  life  or 
recovery)  is  removed  like  a  tree. 

11 — 12.  Figures  of  hostile  assault;  God  directs  charge  after  charge 
of  His  army  against  Him.  The  reference  is  to  his  afllictions,  cf.  ch. 
X.  17. 

12.  raise  up  their  way\  i.e.  cast  up  a  way  or  high  bank  on  which  to 
advance  againt  the  beleaguered  fort  or  city. 

13—19.     The  estrangement  and  abhorrence  of  men. 

Job's  complaint  now  is  even  more  touching  than  before:  God  not 
only  afflicted  him  with  trouble  but  removed  far  from  him  all  human 
sympathy.  And  there  is  something  more  breaking  to  the  heart  in  the 
turning  away  of  men  from  us  than  in  the  severest  sufferings.  It  crushes 
us  quite.  We  steel  ourselves  against  it  for  a  time  and  rise  to  it  in  bitterness 
and  resentment,  but  gradually  it  breaks  us  and  we  are  crushed  at  last. 
And  this  seems  the  way  whether  men  frown  on  us  with  justice  or  no. 
And  there  came  on  Job  when  he  contemplated  his  complete  casting  off 
by  men,  by  his  friends  and  his  household  and  even  by  the  little  chil- 
dren, a  complete  break-down,  and  he  cries,  Pity  me,  O  ye  my  friends 
(z/.  21).     This  alienation  of  men  was  universal : — 

13 — 14.  First,  his  relations  outside  his  own  immediate  circle  and  his 
acquaintances  stood  aloof  from  him. 


I40  JOB,  XIX.  [vv.  15—17. 

And  my  familiar  friends  have  forgotten  me. 
They  that  dwell  in  mine  house,  and  my  maidens, 
Count  me  for  a  stranger: 
I  am  an  alien  in  their  sight. 
I  called  my  servant,  and  he  gave  me  no  answer; 
I  intreated  him  with  my  mouth. 
My  breath  is  strange  to  my  wife, 

Though  I  intreated  for  the  children'.y  sake  of  mine  own 
body. 

15 — 16.  Then  those  unrelated  to  him  within  his  house,  the  menials 
and  slaves.  Those  who,  as  Oriental  servants,  used  to  be  subservient 
and  observant  of  the  slightest  sign  from  their  master  (Ps.  cxxiii.  2) — these 
"ducking  observants"  now  refuse  to  answer  when  he  calls,  and  must 
be  besought  for  their  service.  Very  soon  the  reflection  of  one's  fall  is 
thrown  from  the  countenances  of  those  higher  in  rank  down  upon  the 
faces  of  the  servants,  where  it  shows  itself  without  any  delicacy  or 
reserve.  Verse  16  reads,  I  call  my  servant  atid  he  giveth  me  no  answer: 
I  must  entreat  him  with  my  tnouth. 

17.  Once  more,  if  possible  an  acuter  misery — he  is  become  in- 
tolerable to  those  most  dear  to  him. 

though  I  intreated]  Perhaps,  and  I  am  loathsome  to  the  children 
of — .  The  word  as  known  in  Heb.  means  to  be  gracious  to,  to  pity 
{v.  31),  in  the  simple  form  (here),  and  to  seek  favour  to  oneself,  or 
beseech,  in  the  reflexive  [v.  16),  but  the  simple  form  has  nowhere  the 
meaning  of  "beseech"  or  entreat.  The  Arab,  has  a  root  of  the  same 
spelling,  which  means  to  smell  badly,  to  stink, — a  sense  parallel  to  the 
meaning  of  the  first  clause,  where  "  strange  "  means  offensive. 

The  last  words  of  the  verse  "  children  of  mine  own  body "  are 
difficult ;  they  mean  literally,  children  of  tny  womb.  The  word  usually 
rendered  womb  is  used  occasionally  of  the  father,  Ps.  cxxxii.  1 1 ; 
Mic.  vi.  7.  The  Prologue  narrates  the  death  of  Job's  children,  and  the 
same  assumption  is  made  in  the  Poem,  ch.  viii.  4,  xxix.  5,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  thought  that  another  mode  of  representation  appears  here.  In 
■vv.  15 — 16,  however.  Job  has  still  maids  and  servants,  though  his 
servants  are  represented  in  the  Prologue  as  having  perished.  As  he  has 
other  servants  he  might  have  other  children.  These  might  be  children 
of  concubines,  as  Job  lived  in  the  patriarchal  age,  though  no  allusion  is 
made  to  such  connexions,  and  the  references  to  his  wife  are  of  such  a 
kind  as  to  suggest  that  Job  lived  in  a  state  of  strict  monogamy.  Or  the 
expression  "children  of  my  body  "  might  be  used  somewhat  loosely  to 
mean  grandchildren — children  of  his  sons.  The  impression  conveyed 
by  the  Prologue  is  that  the  seven  sons  were  unmarried,  though  this  is 
left  uncertain.  Others  consider  the  phrase  "  children  of  my  womb"  to 
mean,  children  of  my  mother — children  of  the  same  womb  with  myself. 

18.  Another  affecting  touch— the  little  children  mock  his  ineffectual 
attempts  to  rise  from  the  ground. 


vv.  18—22.]  JOB,   XIX.  141 

Yea,  young  children  despised  me;  18 

I  arose,  and  they  spake  against  me. 

All  my  inward  friends  abhorred  me:  19 

And  they  whom  I  loved  are  turned  against  me. 

My  bone  cleaveth  to  my  skin  and  to  my  flesh,  20 

And  I  am  escaped  with  the  skin  of  my  teeth. 

Have  pity  upon  me,  have  pity  upon  me,  O  ye  my  friends;  21 

For  the  hand  of  God  hath  touched  me. 

Why  do  ye  persecute  me  as  God,  22 

And  are  not  satisfied  with  my  flesh  ? 

children  despised]     Better,  despise. 

/  arose,  and  they  spa/ce]  Better,  if  I  woidd  arise  tliey  speak— they 
jeer  at  his  painful  efforts  to  rise. 

19.  7iiy  inward  friends]  A  fine  expression,  lit.  the  men  of  my 
council.     ' '  Inward  "  means  intimate  : 

"Who  is  most  inward  with  the  royal  duke?"        Rich.  III. 

The  reference  is  to  such  as  his  three  friends,  men  whose  high  converse 
and  fellowship  seemed  to  Job,  as  a  thoughtful  godly  man,  something 
almost  better  than  relationship,  Ps.  Iv.  14.  See  Prelim,  Remarks  to 
ch.  iii. 

abhorred]     Better,  abhor. 

20.  The  desertion  and  loathing  of  mankind  is  universal,  and  to  this 
is  added  his  exhausted  state  from  disease. 

My  bo7te  cleaveth  to  my  skin]  The  words  describe  his  emaciated  con- 
dition, cf.  Lam.  iv.  8;  Ps.  cii.  5,  My  bones  cleave  to  my  skin  (marg. 
flesh);  Ps.  xxii.  17,  I  may  tell  (count)  all  my  bones. 

escaped  -with  the  skin  of  my  teeth]  i.e.  with  nothing  else.  The  "skin 
of  my  teeth"  is  usually  held  to  mean  the  gums,  which  Job  represents  as 
still  sound,  otherwise  he  would  be  unable  to  speak ;  the  last  stage  of 
his  disease  has  not  yet  been  reached.  In  z^.  17  however  he  referred  to 
his  fetid  breath,  and  in  such  distempers  the  mouth  and  throat  are  usually 
rapidly  affected.  Besides,  such  a  sense  is  prosaic  and  flat.  The 
phrase  is  probably  proverbial ;  the  meaning  of  Job  being  that  he  is 
wholly  fallen  a  prey  to  his  disease,  cf.  Am.  iii.  12. 

21.  22.  Overcome  by  his  sense  of  the  terrible  enmity  of  God,  Job 
piteously  cries  out  for  the  compassion  of  men.  There  is  a  strong  anti- 
thesis between  "ye  my  friends"  and  the  "hand  of  God,"  "God"  (v.  22). 
The  whole  speech,  even  when  the  enmity  of  men  is  referred  to  [v.  13 
seq.),  is  occupied  with  the  thought  of  God,  He  is  regarded  as  the  cause 
of  men's  abhorrence.  Job  for  a  moment  seeks  refuge  with  men  from 
God's  severity. 

22.  satisfied  with  my  flesh]  Why  cannot  ye  be  sated  with  devouring 
me?  The  figure  is  sufficiently  plain.  In  Oriental  phrase  "to  devour 
or  eat  the  parts  or  pieces  of  one  "  is  to  calumniate  him,  to  accuse  him, 
Dan.  iii.  8,  vi.  34.  Job  asks  why  they  will  not  cease  to  bring  accusa- 
tions against  him  ? 


142  JOB,  XIX.  [w.  23,  24. 

O  that  my  words  were  now  written  ! 

O  that  they  were  printed  in  a  book  ! 

That  they  were  graven  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead 

In  the  rock  for  ever  ! 

23 — 27.  Job  turns  to  tlie  future.  He  desires  that  his  protestation  of 
innocence  could  find  indelible  record  in  the  rocJ<,  that  it  might  stand  a 
perpetual  witness  to  all  generations.  But  he  sliall  have  something 
greater  :  he  knows  that  God  will  yet  appear  for  his  vindication,  and 
that  he  shall  see  Him  with  joy. 

The  passage  should  probably  be  read  something  as  follows  : 

23  Oh  now  that  my  words  were  written, 
Oh  that  they  were  inscribed  in  a  book  ; 

24  That  with  a  pen  of  iron  and  lead 
They  were  graven  in  the  rock  for  ever. 

25  But  I  know  that  my  redeemer  liveth, 

And  in  after  time  he  shall  stand  upon  the  dust, 

26  And  after  this  my  skin  is  destroyed 
And  without  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God  : 

27  Whom  I  shall  see  for  myself, 

And  mine  eyes  shall  behold  and  not  another — 

My  reins  consume  within  me  ! 
In  vv.  21,  22  Job  in  his  terror  of  God  appealed  to  his  friends  for  pity, 
but  probably  he  saw  no  signs  of  relenting  there.  They  could  not  relent; 
their  friend  might  be  dear,  but  truth  and  religion  were  greater.  Secure 
in  their  principles,  their  countenances  shewed  but  austere  reprobation  of 
their  wicked  friend.  They  will  be  more  austere  because  they  are 
putting  down  humanity  and  sacriticing  themselves  in  being  austere. 
And  turning  from  them  the  desire  suddenly  seizes  Job  to  make  his 
appeal  to  posterity,  to  record  in  writing  his  protestation  of  his  innocence, 
or  to  grave  it  in  the  rock,  that  when  he  is  gone  men  might  read  it  to  all 
time.  Yet  this  thought  satisfies  him  but  for  a  moment.  Even  if  the 
generations  to  come  should  pass  a  more  gentle  sentence  upon  him  than 
his  own  time,  being  better  able  to  estimate  his  circumstances  and  no 
more  warped  by  the  heats  of  controversy,  and  more  inclined  amidst  the 
acknowledged  mystery  of  his  life  to  allow  weight  to  the  persistent  testi- 
mony of  his  conscience,  as  that  behind  which  it  is  impossible  to  go — 
even  if  they  should  not  only  mitigate  but  reverse  the  judgment  of  his 
contemporaries,  how  small  a  thing  that  would  be  to  him.  And  his 
mind  rebounds  from  this  thought  forward  to  a  greater — he  knows  that 
his  redeemer  liveth  and  shall  appear  for  his  vindication  and  peace. 

23.  i)i  a  book]  The  Heb.  says  in  the  book,  using  the  Art.  to  indicate 
the /•/«(/  of  record,  Ex.  xvii.  14;  Numb.  v.  23;  i  Sam.  x.  25.  The 
phrase  means  merely  to  "commit  to  writing."  The  "words"  which 
Job  desiies  written  are  not  those  in  v.  25  seq.,  but  his  general  and  oft 
repeated  protestations  of  his  innocence. 

24.  In  V.  23  Job  longed  that  his  words  were  written.  But  ordinary 
writing  is  perishable.     And  now  he  desires  that  his  words  were  hewn 


V.  25-]  JOB,   XIX.  143 

For  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth, 

And  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth: 

in  indelible  characters  upon  the  rock.  The  "lead"  was  probably  run 
into  the  traces  cut  in  the  stone.  It  need  not  be  said  that  "the  rock  " 
like  "the  book  "  means  merely  rock,  and  not  any  particular  rock. 

25.  For  1  /.-noTci]  Rather,  but  I  know.  Tliis  is  now  something 
higher  to  which  his  mind  rises.  He  desires  no  doubt  to  be  vindicated 
before  men,  and  would  wish  that  all  generations  to  come  should  know 
his  claim  to  rectitude,  when  he  no  more  lived  himself  to  make  it  {vv.  23, 
24) ;  but  what  he  desires  above  all  things  is  that  he  might  see  God  who 
now  hides  His  face  from  him,  and  meet  Him,  for  the  meeting  could  not 
but  be  with  joy  (cf.  ch.  xxiii.  6  set/.).  Job's  problem  is  first  of  all 
a  problem  of  religious  life,  and  only  in  the  second  place  a  speculative 
one.  And  the  speculative  elements  in  it  have  no  further  meaning  than 
as  they  aggravate  the  practical  religious  trouble.  A  solution  of  his 
problem,  therefore,  was  possible  in  only  one  way,  viz.  by  his  seeing 
God  (cf.  ch.  xlii.  i;) — for  to  see  God  is  to  see  Him  in  peace  and  recon- 
ciliation. And  it  is  to  grasp  the  assurance  of  this  that  Job's  heart  now 
reaches  forth  its  hand. 

my  Redeemer  liveth^  "  Liveth"  means  more  than  is,  exists.  Job  uses 
the  word  in  opposition  to  himself — he  dies  but  his  redeemer  lives  after 
him.  The  term  redeemer  (Heb.  go' el)  is  frequently  used  of  God  as  the 
deliverer  of  His  people  out  of  captivity,  e.  g.  very  often  in  Is.  xl.  seq.  (ch. 
xlix.  7,  26,  liv.  5,  8),  and  also  as  the  deliverer  of  individuals  from  distress, 
Gen.  xlviii.  16 ;  Ps.  xix.  14,  ciii.  4.  Among  men  the  GoelviZ.s  the  nearest 
blood-relation,  on  whom  it  lay  to  perform  certain  offices  in  connexion 
with  the  deceased  whose  Goel  he  was,  particularly  to  avenge  his  blood, 
if  he  had  been  unjustly  slain  (Ruth  ii.  20,  &c. ;  Numb.  xxxv.  19).  Job 
here  names  God  his  Goel.  The  passage  stands  in  close  relation  with 
ch.  xvi.  iS,  19,  where  he  names  God  his  "witness  "  and  "  sponsor"  or 
representative.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  there  is  an  allusion  to 
the  Goel  among  men — Job  has  in  God  a  Goel  who  liveth.  This  Goel 
will  vindicate  his  rights  against  the  wrong  both  of  men  and  God 
(vv.  3,  7).  At  the  same  time  this  vindication  is  regarded  less  as  an 
avenging  of  him,  at  least  on  others  (though  cf.  vv.  28,  29),  than  as 
a  manifestation  of  his  innocence.  This  manifestation  can  only  be  made 
by  God's  appearing  and  shewing  the  true  relation  in  which  Job  stands 
to  Him,  and  by  Job's  seeing  God.  For  his  distress  lay  in  God's  hiding 
His  face  from  him,  and  his  redemption  must  come  through  his  again 
beholding  God  in  peace.  Thus  the  ideas  of  Goel  and  redeemer  virtu- 
ally coincide. 

he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day]  To  stand  means  to  arise  and  appear, 
to  come  fo)~ward  (as  a  witness,  Deut.  xix.  15;  Ps.  xxxvii.  12),  or  to  inter- 
pose (as  a  judge,  Ps.  xii.  5).  The  word  day  has  no  place  here.  The 
expression  "the  latter"  means  either  last  or  later.  It  is  used  of  God 
as  the  first  and  the  last  (Is.  xliv.  6,  xlviii.  12),  but  also  otherwise  in  a 
comparative  sense,  later,  to  come,  following  (Ps.  xlviii.  13,  Ixxviii.  4; 
Ecc.  iv.  16;  Job  xviii.  20).     Here  the  word  is  an  epithet  of  God  and 


144  JOB,   XIX.  [v.  26. 

And  though  after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body, 
Yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God: 

can  hardly  describe  Flim  as  the  last,  for  Job  certainly  does  not  contem- 
plate his  vindication  being  put  off  till  the  end  of  all  things.  The  ex- 
pression is  parallel  to  "  my  Goel "  in  the  first  clause,  and  literally  rendered, 
means  :  and  he  who  cometh  after  (me)  shall  stand  ;  or,  and  as  one  who 
Cometh  after  (me)  he  shall  stand.  The  trans.,  in  after  time  he  shall 
stand,  is  nearly  equivalent.  Ewald  and  other  high  authorities  render, 
an  afterman,  i.e.  a  vindicator. 

upon  the  earthy  Better,  the  dust.  The  word  does  not  mean  earth  in 
opposition  to  heaven  ;  such  an  antithesis  did  not  need  to  be  expressed  ; 
if  God  came  forward  or  interposed  in  Job's  behalf  He  must  do  so  upon 
the  earth.  The  word  "  dust  "  carries  rather  an  allusion  to  the  earth  as 
that  wherein  Job  shall  have  been  laid  before  God  shall  appear  for  him 
— the  same  allusion  as  is  carried  in  the  words  "Goel"  and  "he  who 
cometh  after  me;"  cf  ch.  vii.  21,  xvii.  16,  xx.  11,  xxi.  1(^,  &c. 

26.  and  though  after  7)iy  skin  worms  destroyi\  See  trans,  above. 
The  word  destroy  means  to  break  off,  strike  down  or  off,  as  branches 
from  a  tree  (Is.  x.  34).  The  words  literally  run,  and  after  my  skin 
which  they  have  destroyed  even  this  (probably  pointing  to  himself). 
The  indeterminate  construction  zvhich  they  have  destroyed  is  equivalent 
to  our  passive,  which  has  been  destroyed.  The  Heb.  construction  must 
be  given  somewhat  freely  in  English,  as  above.  The  words  "worms" 
and  "body"  have  nothing  corresponding  in  the  original. 

yet  in  my  ftes/i]  Better,  as  above,  and  without  my  flesh.  The 
m:\.xgiTi,  out  of  {or,  fro?}i)  my  flesh,  suggests  the  explanation  how  such 
opposite  senses  may  be  arrived  at.  The  Heb.  prep,  from  has  the  same 
ambiguity  z.%from  in  English.  When  Regan  in  Lear  11.  i  says, 
"Our  father  he  hath  writ,  so  hath  our  sister. 
Of  differences,  which  I  best  thought  it  iit 
To  answer  from  our  home," 
her  words  most  naturally  perhaps  suggest  the  meaning  that  she  thought 
it  best  to  answer  at  home,  her  home  being  the  place  from  which  the 
answer  was  sent.  Her  meaning,  however,  is  that  she  thought  it  best  to 
answer  when  she  was  away  from  home.  Similarly  when  Job  says,  from 
(or,  out  of)  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God,  the  meaning  may  be,  that 
(looking)  from  his  flesh  he  shall  see  God,  i.  e.  as  A.  V.  in  his  flesh ;  or 
that  he  shall  see  God,  (when)  away  from  his  flesh,  i.e.  without  his 
flesh.  The  context  and  general  scope  of  the  passage  decides  for  the 
latter  sense.  For  a  similar  use  of  the  Heb.  prep,  sec  ch.  xi.  15,  away 
from  (=without)  spot;  xxi.  9,  margin;  xxviii.  4,  they  hang  (far)  away 
from  7nen,  they  swing ;  cf.  Gen.  xxvii.  39,  away  from  (without)  the 
fatness;  Numb.  xv.  24,  marg.  The  whole  expression  "after  this  my 
skin  has  been  destroyed  and  without  my  flesh"  means  "when  I  have 
died  under  the  ravages  of  my  disease."  The  words  do  not  express  in 
what  condition  precisely,  but  after  what  events  Job  shall  see  God. 

shall  I  sec  God^  The  connexion  is.  But  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
livelh,  and  he  who  shall  be  alter  me  shall  stand  upon  the  dust,  and... 


vv.  27—29.]  JOB,   XIX.  145 

"Whom  I  shall  see  for  myself, 
And  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another; 
Though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me. 
But  ye  should  say,  Why  persecute  we  him  ? 
Seeing  the  root  of  the  matter  is  found  in  me; 
Be  ye  afraid  of  the  sword: 

I  shall  see  God.  The  last  woixls  explain  who  Job's  Redeemer  or  Goel 
is,  and  who  He  is  wlio  remaineth  or  shall  come  after  him,  viz.  God. 
After  his  skin  is  destroyed  and  without  his  flesh  he  shall  see  God. 
Before  death  he  shall  not  see  Him,  for  he  shall  die  under  His  aftlicting 
hand  (cf.  ch.  xxiii.  14),  but  he  shall  yet  behold  Him.  To  see  God  is  to 
see  Him  reconciled  and  in  peace,  for  this  is  implied  in  seeing  Him  at  all, 
because  now  He  hides  His  face  (ch.  xxiii.  iseq.,  8 sec/.,  ch.  xxiv.  i  set/.). 

27.  Jl'/iom  I  shall  see  for  my  self  ^  These  words  might  mean  merely, 
whom  I  myself  shall  see;  ox,  for  myself  xa.z.y  mean,  favourable  to  me, 
on  my  side  and  to  my  joy. 

and  not  another']  i.  e.  I  and  not  another  (shall  see).  Job  heaps  up 
phrases  to  express  his  assurance  that  he  shall  see  God,  "  I  shall  see  for 
myself,"  "mine  eyes  shall  behold,"  "I  and  not  another."  The  whole  of 
his  misery  might  be  expressed  in  saying  that  God  hid  Himself  from  him, 
and  the  whole  of  his  redemption  and  joy  will  consist  in  seeing  God. 
Others  take  the  words  "not  another,"  lit.  not  a  stranger,  to  refer  to 
God — whom  I  shall  see  not  as  a  stranger,  i.  e.  no  more  estranged  or 
hostile.  The  position  of  the  words,  however,  close  beside  the  phrase 
"mine  eyes,"  is  rather  in  favour  of  the  other  view. 

though  my  reins  be  consiuned]  Rather,  my  reins  consume  within 
me,  lit.  in  my  bosom  (marg.).  The  words  are  an  exclamation,  meaning 
I  faint,  cf  Ps.  Ixxiii.  26,  Ixxxiv.  1,  cxix.  81,  123.  The  reins  are  the 
seat  of  the  deepest  feelings  and  experiences,  especially  of  those  toward 
God.  Job  began  with  expressing  his  assurance  that  he  should  see  God, 
but  as  he  proceeds  so  vivid  is  his  hope  that  it  becomes  almost  reality, 
the  intensity  of  his  thought  creates  an  ecstatic  condition  of  mind  in 
which  the  vision  of  God  seems  almost  realized,  and  he  faints  in  the 
presence  of  it.  See  Additional  Note  on  ch.  xix.  23 — 27  at  the  end  of 
the  Volume. 

28,  29.  Brief  threat  to  his  three  friends.  God's  appearance,  which 
will  bring  joy  to  Job,  will  carry  terror  to  those  who  persecute  him  and 
fasten  false  charges  of  guilt  upon  him.  The  language  in  these  verses  is 
in  some  parts  obscure,  and  there  may  be  faults  in  the  text.  Verse  28 
reads  in  connexion  with  v.  29, 

If  ye  say.  How  we  will  pursue  him  ! 

And  the  root  of  the  matter  is  found  in  me : 

Be  ye  afraid  of  the  sword,  &c. 
Verse  28  forms  the  supposition  and  v.  29  states  the  consequence,  the 
penalty  of  the  conduct  referred  to  on  the  part  of  Job's  friends.      If  they 
shall  continue  their  unjust  persecution  of  him,  asserting  that  the  "root 

JOB  10 


1^6  JOB,  XIX.   XX.  [v.  29. 

For  wrath  hringdh  the  punishments  of  the  sword, 
That  ye  may  know  there  is  a  judgment. 

of  the  matter,"  i.e.  the  real  cause  of  his  aflflictions,  is  found  in  himself, 
in  his  transgressions,  then  Job  warns  them  that  they  will  bring  on 
themselves  the  "  sword  "  of  Divine  vengeance. 

29.  for  torath  bringcth  the punishnunts  of  the  s'i'ord^  This  transla- 
tion seems  to  assume  that  "  wratli "  here  is  that  of  men,  such  wrath  as 
Job's  friends  shewed  towards  him.  But  the  word  is  too  strong  to  be 
taken  in  this  sense.  The  Divine  "wrath"  or  fury  is  meant.  The 
phrase  "  punishments  of  the  sword  "  means  most  naturally,  the  punish- 
ments inflicted  by  the  sword.  The  whole  expression  would  thus  mean, 
for  wi-ath  (i.e.  in  wrath,  or,  wrathful)  are  the  punishments  of  the  sword 
— the  "sword"  being  as  before  God's  judicial  sword.  Others  render, 
"transgressions  of  the  sword,"  i.e.  such  transgressions  as  bring  down 
the  Divine  sword;  but  the  phrase  "transgressions  of  the  sword  are 
wrath,"  i.e.  have  to  bear  wrath  as  their  reward  or  chastisement, 
(Delitzsch)  is  exceedingly  cumbrous. 

that... there  is  a  jiidgment\  Tire  reference  is  not  to  any  final  or  general 
judgment,  but  to  the  fact  that  God  does  in  truth  judge  and  punish  in- 
justice, such  as  the  friends  were  guilty  of;  cf  xiii.  ro  scq.  The  trans- 
lation assumes  a  form  of  the  relative  conjunction  that  which  nowhere 
else  occurs  in  the  Book  of  Job,  and  there  may  be  some  fault  in  tire  text. 
Ewald  and  others  by  a  slight  change  of  spelling  obtain  the  meaning, 
that  ye  may  know  the  Almighty. 

Cii.  XX.    ZoniAR's  Second  Speech. 

Zophar  breaks  in  upon  the  close  of  Job's  speech  with  a  fiery  haste 
and  passionateness  not  quite  easy  to  account  for.  No  doubt  Job  had 
spoken  of  his  friends  as  persecuting  him  and  devouring  his  flesh.  Then 
he  had  turned  away  from  them  and  appealed  to  posterity  against  them 
(ch.  xix.  23  scq.).  And  finally  he  had  threatened  them  with  the  sword 
and  judgment  of  God  (ch.  xix.  •29).  These  and  former  reproaches 
(ch.  xvii.  4)  may  rankle  in  Zophar's  breast,  and  he  may  not  have  for- 
gotten the  sarcastic  treatment  which  Job  gave  his  first  speech.  Perliaps, 
however,  his  irritation  is  due  less  to  personal  than  to  moral  reasons. 
Job's  last  speech  was  certainly  ill  to  understand,  as  it  has  been  found 
ever  since.  He  had  accused  God  of  "wronging"  him  and  being  his 
enemy  and  with  bringing  him  though  innocent  to  the  grave.  And  yet 
he  had  affirmed  that  he  knew  that  God  would  vindicate  his  right  after 
his  death,  and  that  he  should  see  Him  with  his  eyes  in  peace.  In  all 
this  there  seems  to  Zophar  a  lack  of  common  understanding.  Hence 
he  draws  an  answer  to  it  out  of  the  "spirit"  and  "understanding" 
within  himself  {v.  3).    Cf.  Elihu's  references  to  his  "spirit,"  ch.  xxxii.  8. 

Bildad  (ch.  xviii.)  had  enlarged  upon  the  certainty  of  the  sinner's 
downfall  from  the  moral  order  in  the  world  and  the  moral  sense  in  men, 
which  rose  up  against  wickedness.  Zophar's  point  is  slightly  different, 
it  is  the  brevity  of  the  wicked  man's  prosperity,  which  arises  from  the 


vv.  1—3.]  JOB,   XX.  147 

Then  answered  Zophar  the  Naamathite,  and  said,  20 

Therefore  do  my  thoughts  cause  me  to  answer,  2 

And  for  this  I  make  haste. 

I  have  heard  the  check  of  my  reproach,  3 

And  the  spirit  of  my  understanding  causeth  me  to  answer. 

fact  that  wickedness  brings  about  its  own  retribution — sin,  sweet  in  the 
niouth,  turns  into  the  poison  of  asps  in  the  belly. 

The  Gods  are  just,  and  of  our  pleasant  vices 
Make  instruments  to  scourge  us. 
He  illustrates  this  theme  by  drawing  the  picture  of  a  rapacious,  op- 
pressive man  of  power  suddenly  brought  to  destruction  and  destitution 
in  the  midst  of  his  days,  with  the  hand  of  every  one  that  is  wretched 
against  him,  and  forced  to  disgorge  that  which  he  had  greedily  swallowed. 
Job  may  understand  that  the  fable  is  narrated  of  him.  Zophar  is  too 
much  of  the  "plain  blunt  man";  his  meaning  is  so  transparent  that  he 
commits  himself  and  his  friends  into  his  adversary's  hands. 

One  general  idea  pervades  the  speech,  the  brevity  of  the  wicked  man's 
prosperity. 

w.  1,  3.     Zophar,  in  a  brief  preface,  acknowledges  that  he  is  roused. 

vv.  4 — II.  This  is  because  of  Job's  reproaches,  and  because  he  seems 
unaware  of  the  acknowledged  principle  that  the  triumphing  of  the 
wicked  is  brief 

vv.  12 — 22.  Sin  brings  its  own  retribution — after  the  manner  of  a 
man's  evil  doings  so  is  his  chastisement. 

w.  23 — 29.  God  sates  at  last  with  his  judgments  the  sinner's  in- 
satiable greed  for  wrong-doing. 

Ch.  XX.    The  prosperity  of  the  wicked  is  brief  ;  sin,  sweet 

IN   THE   MOUTH,   BECOMES   THE   POISON   OF  ASPS    IN    THE   BELLY. 

2,  3.  Zophar  is  roused  to  indignation  by  Job's  perverse  blindness  to 
unalterable  principles  experienced  since  the  world  was.  The  verses 
should  perhaps  read, 

2.  Therefore  do  my  thoughts  make  answer  to  me, 
And  because  of  this  have  I  haste  within  me  : 

3.  I  hear  the  rebuke  that  putteth  me  to  shame — 

But  the  spirit  out  of  my  understanding  answereth  me. 
The  words  "therefore"  and  "because  of  this"  refer  to  the  first  clause 
oiv.  3. — I  hear  the  rebuke  that  puts  me  to  shame  (i.e.  Job's  last  words), 
therefore  do  my  thoughts  make  answer  to  me,  and  because  of  this  have 
I  inward  haste,  i.  e.  strong  feeling.  The  speaker  means  that  he  feels 
driven  to  answer  Job  by  the  exasperating  words  of  the  latter,  but  he 
distinguishes  between  himself  and  his  thoughts  and  speaks  of  them 
answering  him.  So  {v.  3)  his  "spirit"  answers  him,  drawing  the 
answer  out  of  his  "understanding."  The  a?is2ver  furnished  to  Zophar 
by  his  spirit  follows  v.  4  seq.     The  last  words  of  v.  2  are  lit.  "is  my 


1 48  JOB,   XX.  [vv.  4— lo. 

Knowest  thou  not  this  of  old, 

Since  man  was  placed  upon  earth, 

That  the  triunijjhing  of  the  wicked  is  short, 

And  the  joy  of  the  hypocrite  but  for  a  moment? 

Though  his  excellency  mount  up  to  the  heavens. 

And  his  head  reach  unto  the  clouds; 

Yet  he  shall  perish  for  ever  like  his  own  dung: 

They  which  have  seen  him  shall  say.  Where  is  he  ? 

He  shall  fly  away  as  a  dream,  and  shall  not  be  found : 

Yea,  he  shall  be  chased  away  as  a  vision  of  the  night. 

The  eye  also  which  saw  him  shall  see  him  no  more; 

Neither  shall  his  place  any  more  behold  him. 

His  children  shall  seek  to  please  the  poor. 

And  his  hands  shall  restore  their  goods. 

haste  within  me;"  cf.  their  cord  in  them,  iv.  21,  my  help  within  me, 
vi.  13.     The  word  "check"  in  A.  V.  v.  3  means  reproof ; 
"Now,  by  my  life, 
Old  fools  are  babes  again  ;  and  must  be  used 
With  checks,  as  flatteries."  Lear,  i.  3. 

"Check'd  like  a  bondman;   all  his  faults  observed." 

y.   Caesar,  iv.  3. 

4 — 10.     The  prosperity  of  the  wicked  is  urief. 

4.  Knowest  thou  not  this  of  old]  i.e.  knowest  thou  not  this  to  be  or  to 
have  been  of  old,  X\i.  from  for  ever.  "This"  which  is  from  of  old  and 
from  the  time  man  has  been  upon  the  earth  is  the  fact  that  the  felicity 
of  the  wicked  is  brief  {v.  5).     On  "hypocrite"  see  cli.  viii.  13. 

6.  his  excellency]  Or,  his  height,  or  rising  up  (I's.  Ixxxix.  9)  ;  cf. 
Is.  xiv.  13 — 15,  Obad.  v.  4. 

7.  lihe  his  own  dung]  Zophar  is  not  the  most  refined  of  the  three, 
cf.  2  Kings  ix.  37.     On  the  last  words  of  tlie  verse  cf.  ch.  xiv.  10. 

8.  as  a  drea//i]  Comp.  Ps.lxxiii.  20,  "As  a  dream  when  one  awakcth  ; 
so,  O  Lord,  when  thou  awakest  thou  shalt  despise  their  image"; 
Is.  xxix.  8,  of  the  enemies  of  Israel.  "" 

9.  See  ch.  vii.  8 — 10  ;  viii.  18  ;  Ps.  ciii.  16. 

10.  //is  children  shall  see/e  to /lease]  Or,  seci  the  fir'onr  of.  The 
margin  is  possible,  The  poor  shall  oppress  his  children,  but  less 
suitable. 

restore  their  goods]  Rather,  Ms  goods.  He  shall  give  back  his  wealth 
which  he  has  gotten  by  unlawful  and  violent  means.  The  first  clause 
of  "'.  10  is  closely  connected  with  v.  9,  and  paints  the  abject  condition 
of  the  sinner's  children  after  his  death  ;  the  second  clause  of  v.  10  and 
V.  1 1  return  to  the  idea  of  the  sinner's  destruction  and  assume  that  he  is 
in  life. 


vv.  II— 18.]  JOB,   XX.  149 

His  bones  are  full  of  the  sin  of\\\%  youth,  n 

Which  shall  lie  down  with  him  in  the  dust. 

Though  wickedness  be  sweet  in  his  mouth,  1= 

Though  he  hide  it  under  his  tongue; 

Though  he  spare  it,  and  forsake  it  not;  13 

But  keep  it  still  within  his  mouth : 

Yet  his  meat  in  his  bowels  is  turned,  u 

//  is  the  gall  of  asps  within  him. 

He  hath  swallowed  down  riches,  and  he  shall  vomit  them  15 

up  again: 
God  shall  cast  them  out  of  his  belly. 

He  shall  suck  the  poison  of  asps :  t6 

The  viper's  ton;;ue  shall  slay  him. 

He  shall  not  see  the  rivers,  17 

The  floods,  the  brooks  of  honey  and  butter. 
That  which  he  laboured  for  shall  he  restore,  and  shall  not  is 

swallow  //  down : 

11.  full  of  the  sin  of  his  youth\  Rather,  his  bones  are  full  of  Ms 
youth,  hut  it  shall  lie  down,  &:c. ;  in  the  midst  of  his  years,  when  his 
bones  are  full  of  his  youthful  strength,  like  a  vigorous  marrow,  he  shall 
be  cut  off,  and  his  youth  go  down  to  the  grave  with  him. 

12 — 22.     His  sin  changes  into  his  punishment. 

12.  Sin  is  spoken  of  under  the  figure  of  a  dainty  which  tickles 
the  palate,  and  which  one  retains  and  turns  in  his  mouth  with  de- 
light. 

13.  forsake  it  Jiot]  i.  e.  do  7tot  let  it  go — do  not  swallow  it. 

14.  is  turned^  i.e.  is  changed, — it  becomes  the  poison  of  asps  in  his 
belly. 

15.  The  same  general  figure  of  a  delightful  food  particularized. 
The  ill-gotten  riches  which  he  amassed  do  not  abide  with  him;  the 
wealth  that  he  swallowed  up  he  must  disgorge.  The  figure  is  perhaps 
that  of  a  food  which  tlie  stomach  cannot  retain. 

16.  A  slight  change  of  the  figure.  The  meaning  is  :  that  which  he 
sucks  shall  prove  the  poison  of  asps. 

17 — 22.  That  long  time  of  enjoyment  which  he  promised  himself 
shall  never  come ;  according  to  his  insatiable  lust  and  greed  shall  be  his 
utter  destitution  at  last. 

17.  the  floods,  the  broohs  ofhoneyl  The  marg.  the  streaming  brooks  is 
unnecessary.  The  words  "honey  and  butter"  apply  both  to  "floods" 
(streams)  and  brooks.  The  figure  is  common  for  fulness  of  blessings. 
Cf.  Ex.  iii.  8,  "A  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey." 

18.  That  which  he  laboured for'X  i.  e.  that  which  he  has  acquired — the 
fruit  of  his  labour;  this  he  shall  restore  and  shall  not  swallow  down,  or 
enjoy. 


I50  JOB,  XX.  [vv.  19—23. 

According  to  /lis  substance  s/ia/l  the  restitution  de,  and  he 

shall  not  rejoice  therein. 
Because  he  hath  oppressed  and  hath  forsaken  the  poor ; 
Because  he  hath  violently  taken  away  a  house  which  he 

builded  not; 
Surely  he  shall  not  feel  quietness  in  his  belly, 
He  shall  not  save  of  that  which  he  desired. 
There  shall  none  of  his  meat  be  left; 
Therefore  shall  no  man  look  for  his  goods. 
In  the  fulness  of  his  sufficiency  he  shall  be  in  straits: 
Every  hand  of  the  wicked  shall  come  upon  him. 
When  he  is  about  to  till  his  belly, 

according  to  his  suhsfance]  This  half  verse  reads  :  according  to  the 
wealth  which  he  has  gotten  he  shall  not  rejoice,  lit.  according  to  the 
wealth  of  his  exchange  (cf.  ch.  xv.  31).  The  meaning  is,  however  great 
the  substance  be  which  by  his  evil  he  has  acquired  he  shall  not  have  the 
joy  of  it  he  promised  himself. 

The  following  verses  read  most  naturally, 

19.  Because  he  hath  oppressed  and  forsaken  the  poor. 

The  house  which  he  hath  violently  taken  away  he  shall  not 
build  up  ; 

20.  Because  he  hath  known  no  rest  in  his  belly, 

He  shall  not  deliver  himself  with  that  wherein  he  delighteth; 

21.  There  was  nothing  left  that  he  devoured  not, 
Therefore  his  good  shall  not  abide. 

19.  and  hath  forsaken^  Abandoned  them,  after  oppressing  them,  to 
their  destitution.  Thus,  though  joining  house  to  house  (Is.  v.  8)  and  dis- 
possessing the  poor,  the  houses  which  he  robs  he  shall  not  build  up — as 
Is.  says.  Many  houses  shall  be  desolate,  even  great  and  fair  without 
inhabitant  (ch.  v.  9). 

20.  quietness  in  his  belly]  Rather  as  above.  The  belly  is  the  seat  of 
appetite;  the  words  mean,  because  he  felt  and  displayed  a  restless 
insatiable  greediness. 

21.  his  goods]  This  may  mean  his  prosperity.  In  all  these  verses 
the  retribution  corresponds  to  the  sin— the  insatiable  greediness  is 
recompensed  by  utter  loss  and  want. 

22.  In  the  moment  of  his  great  abundance  his  straitness  comes  sud- 
denly upon  him.  .. 

evejy  hand  of  the  wicked]  Rather,  of  the  wretched  (ch.  111.  lo,  him 
that  is  in  misery).  All  those  in  destitution,  and  the  lawless,  both  those 
whom  he  has  oppressed  and  those  perhaps  who  make  common  cause 
with  them,  shall  rise  up  against  him  and  make  him  their  prey.  The 
picture  is  similar  to  that  drawn  by  Eliphaz,  ch.  v.  5, 

23—29.  His  insatiable  greed  shall  be  satisfied  at  last.  God  shall 
fdl  him  full  of  his  judgments. 


vv.  24— 27.]  JOB,   XX.  151 

God  shall  cast  the  fury  of  his  wrath  upon  him, 

And  shall  rain  //  upon  him  while  he  is  eating. 

He  shall  flee  from  the  iron  weapon, 

A?id  the  bow  of  steel  shall  strike  him  through. 

It  is  drawn,  and  cometh  out  of  the  body; 

Yea,  the  glistering  sword  cometh  out  of  his  gall : 

Terrors  are  upon  him. 

All  darkness  shall  be  hid  in  his  secret  places : 

A  fire  not  blown  shall  consume  him; 

It  shall  go  ill  with  him  that  is  left  in  his  tabernacle. 

The  heaven  shall  reveal  his  iniquity; 

And  the  earth  shall  rise  up  against  him. 

23.  His  belly  shall  be  filled  ! 

God  shall  cast  the  fury  of  his  wrath  upon  him, 

And  shall  rain  upon  him  his  food. 
The  food  which  the  sinner  shall  be  sated  with  is  the  terrible  rain  of 
judgments  which  God  shall  shower  upon  him  ;  cf.  Ps.  xi.  6,   Upon  the 
wicked  he  shall  rain  snares,  fire  and  brimstone  and  a  burning  tempest : 
this  shall  be  the  portion  of  their  cup. 

24.  His  inevitable  destruction  :  seeking  to  escape  one  form  of  death 
he  shall  flee  into  another.  The  figure  changes.  The  judgment  of  God 
is  no  more  a  rain  from  heaven,  it  is  an  attack  on  all  hands  of  armed 
inexorable  foes  ;  cf.  the  same  idea  of  inevitable  destruction  set  forth 
under  different  figures,  Am.  v.  19.      For  bow  of  steel  read  bow  of  brass. 

25.  It  is  drawn]  Rather,  he  drawetli  it  fortll — that  is,  the  arrow 
{V.  24).  . 

the  glistering  sword]  Rather,  the  glittering  shaft  (Is.  xlix.  2),  or,  more 
generally,  the  glittering  steel ;  what  is  meant  is  the  arrow  that  strikes 
the  sinner  through  {v.  24).  He  draws  it  out  hoping  to  save  himself,  not 
knowing  that  he  is  mortally  stricken,  but  with  the  drawing  of  it  out 
there  fall  on  him  the  terrors  of  death.  The  picture,  particularly  the  last 
isolated  sentence  "terrors  are  upon  him,"  is  graphic. 

26.  All  darkness  is  laid  up  for  his  treasures ; 
A  fire  not  blown  shall  consume  him. 

It  shall  devour  him  that  is  left  in  his  tent. 
"Darkness"  is  a  figure  for  calamity;  cf  ch.  xv.  22,  23.  "Laid  up," 
i.e.  reserved,  destined,  for.  "Him  that  is  left"  may  also  mean  "that 
which  is  left,"  z'.  21.  A  fire  "not  blown"  by  mortal  breath  or  man's 
mouth,  but  the  fire  of  God,  consumes  him  ;  or,  it  may  be  a  fire  which 
kindles  itself, — an  allusion  to  the  self-avenging  nature  of  sin ;  cf. 
ch.  XV.  34. 

27.  Heaven  and  earth  conspire  together  against  the  sinner.  There 
maybe  allusion  to  Job's  appeal  to  the  earth,  ch.  xvi.  18,  and  his  pre- 
tended assurance  of  having  a  witness  in  heaven,  ch.  xvi.  19,  xix.  25. 
Heaven  "reveals"  his  iniquity  in  the  chastisements,  e.g.  the  fire  of 


152  JOB,   XX.   XXI.  [vv.  28,  29. 

i      The  increase  of  his  house  shall  depart, 

And  his  goods  shall  flow  away  in  the  day  of  his  wrath. 

»      This  is  the  portion  of  a  wicked  man  from  God, 
And  the  heritage  appointed  unto  him  by  God. 

heaven,  ch.  i.  16,  that  fall  on  him  ;  and  earth  rises  up  against  him  in  the 
hostility  of  men,  ch.  i.  15,  17,  of.  ch.  xvii.  6. 

28.  The  iiicrcase\  i.e.  tlie  gain,  possessions. 

his  goods  shall  floiu  aivay^  lit.  things  -washed  a-way ;  his  possessions 
shall  be  swept  away  with  a  flood  in  the  day  of  God's  wrath. 

29.  Like  all  the  speakers  in  this  second  round  of  debate  Zophar 
concludes  by  pointing  with  an  impressive  gesture  to  the  picture  he  has 
drawn.  Job  siiould  see  himself  there.  He  finishes  by  saying  "from 
God."  This  forces  Job  into  the  arena;  he  has  no  help,  however  un- 
willing he  may  be,  but  face  this  argument  (ch.  .\.\i.  27),  and  he  shews 
that  that  which  comes  "from  God"  (ch.  x.xi.  22)  is  something  very 
different. 

Ch.  XXI.    Job's  Reply  to  Zophar. 

It  is  part  of  the  Poet's  art  no  doubt  to  make  Job  wait  till  all  the  three 
have  spoken  and  fully  developed  their  case  before  he  replies  to  it.  But 
his  art  is  also  nature.  Job  at  the  beginning  of  each  round  of  speeches 
is  too  much  occupied  with  himself,  with  the  broad  general  impressions 
which  his  condition  and  the  conduct  of  his  friends  make  on  him,  to  be 
able  for  a  time  to  attend  to  their  special  arguments.  In  the  earlier  part 
of  the  first  colloquy  he  is  overpowered  by  the  thouglit  tliat  God  has 
become  his  enemy.  In  the  beginning  of  the  second  the  tliought  that 
men  also  have  turned  against  him  crushes  him  to  the  ground.  And 
under  the  weight  of  these  feelings  he  seems  unable  to  fix  liis  mind 
on  mere  points  of  argument,  he  only  knows  tliat  his  friends  are 
arguing  against  him.  There  is  much  humanity  in  Job,  and  his  mind 
moves  by  preference  in  the  region  of  human  feelings,  the  rights  of  the 
wretched,  the  claims  of  sentient  life,  the  mysteries  of  human  existence 
and  the  riddles  of  the  world,  and  it  is  unwillingly  that  he  descends  from 
this  region  into  the  arena  of  disputation.  It  is  only  the  corrosive 
language  of  Zophar  that  awakens  him  on  eacli  occasion  to  the  par- 
ticular meaning  of  his  friends'  addresses.  Both  times  his  challenge 
brings  Job  into  the  field,  the  first  time  with  all  the  bitterness  of 
sarcasm  (ch.  xii.),  and  now  with  the  trenchant  force  of  an  argument 
from  facts. 

Zophar  began  his  speech  with  the  astonished  query.  Dost  thou  know 
this  to  have  been  from  of  old  that  the  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short  ? 
(ch.  XX.  4,  5),  and  closed  his  history  of  the  wicked  man  suddenly  cut 
down  in  the  vigour  of  his  life  (v.  11)  with  the  words,  Lo  !  this  is  the 
portion  of  the  wicked  man  from  God  [v.  29).  These  words  y)vw  God 
call  up  before  Job's  soul  the  great  mystery  with  which  he  is  struggling. 
According  to  his  own  former  faith  as  well  as  that  of  his  friends  this 
should  have  been  a  true  account  of  God's  rule  of  the  world.  But  Job's 
vision  had  been  sharpened  as  well  as  widened  by  his  own  history,  and 


vv.  1,2.]  JOB,  XXI.  I  S3 

But  Job  answered  and  said,  21 

Hear  diligently  my  speech,  2 

And  let  this  be  your  consolations. 

he  now  observed  much  in  the  world  which  had  formerly  escaped  him. 
He  saw  that  this  was  no  true  statement  of  God's  dealing  with  wicked- 
ness. God  dealt  with  it  quite  otherwise ;  and  the  mystery  overwhelms 
him,  and  instead  of  chiding  his  friends  he  can  only  appeal  to  them  to 
contemplate  the  awful  riddle  of  providence,  at  the  thought  of  which  he 
himself  trembles  (z'.  6).  This  riddle,  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  in 
God's  hand  (v.  16),  their  peaceful  death  {v.  13),  and  even  the  renown 
of  their  memory  {v.  33),  he  then  proceeds  to  unfold.  The  passage  has 
these  parts  : 

First,  w.  2 — 6,  some  words  of  introduction,  in  which  Job  bids  his 
friends  be  silent  till  he  unfolds  before  them  the  mystery  which  weighs 
down  his  own  soul  and  the  thought  of  which  makes  him  tremble — then 
they  may  mock  if  they  have  a  mind. 

Second,  vv.  7 — 34,  the  mystery  itself,  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  in 
four  turns  : — 

vv,  6 — 16.  The  wicked  are  prosperous,  themselves,  their  children, 
their  possessions,  and  they  die  in  peace.  This  is  an  imdeniable  fact  of 
experience. 

vv.  16 — 21.  On  the  other  side,  How  often  is  it  that  they  are  seen 
overwhelmed  by  calamity?  There  is  no  such  invariable  principle. 
They  do  not  die  sudden  and  violent  deaths  as  the  friends  represented. 

vv.  12 — 26.  Why  then  should  men — the  friends — be  wiser  than  God? 
Why  should  they  impose  their  petty  principles  on  God's  providence,  and 
prescribe  methods  to  Him  which  He  does  not  follow? 

vv.  27 — 34.  Finally  Job  turns  to  the  insinuations  of  his  friends — he 
knows  the  meaning  of  their  indirect  allusions,  when  they  say,  Where  is 
the  house  of  the  prince  [v.  28)  ?  but  they  only  shew  their  ignorance  of 
the  testimony  of  those  who  have  travelled  (v.  30),  and  their  little 
sense  of  the  unfathomableness  of  God's  ways,  and  even  if  possible  less 
sense  of  the  ways  of  men,  who  have  no  such  horror  of  the  v.'icked  as 
the  friends  pretend,  but  who  press  forward  in  their  footsteps,  admiring 
their  prosperity  and  forgetting  their  wickedness  [v.  34). 

Ch.  XXI.     The  great  Mystery  of  Providen'CE,  the  PROsrERiTY 
OF  THE  Wicked. 

vv.  2—6.  Job  begs  his  friends  to  give  audience  till  he  speak.  This  is 
the  consolation  he  seeks  from  them  meantime ;  when  he  has  spoken 
they  may  mock,  if  they  are  able  {vv.  2,  3).  It  is  not  of  men  that  he 
complains,  it  is  a  deeper  divine  mystery,  at  which  his  flesh  trembles 
when  he  thinks  of  it,  and  which  will  fill  them  with  astonishment  when 
he  discloses  it  [vv.  4 — 6). 

2.  your  consolations]  They  believed  they  were  offering  him  the  con- 
solations of  God  (ch.  XV.  11);  the  consolation  he  seeks  from  them  is 
that  they  listen  to  him. 


154  JOB,   XXI.  [vv.  3-8. 

t      Suffer  me  that  I  may  speak; 

And  after  that  I  have  spoken,  mock  on. 
I      4s  for  me,  is  my  complaint  to  man  ? 

And  if  //  were  so,  why  should  not  my  spirit  be  troubled  ? 
;      Mark  me,  and  be  astonished, 

And  \a.y  your  hand  upon  jv^z/r  mouth. 

Even  when  I  remember  I  am  afraid. 

And  trembling  taketh  hold  on  my  flesh. 

Wherefore  do  the  wicked  live, 

Become  old,  yea,  are  mighty  m  power  ? 
!      Their  seed  is  established  in  their  sight  with  them, 

3.  mock  on]  This  last  word  is  sing,  and  seems  addressed  to  Zophar 
the  last  speaker,  whose  pictures  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked  deeply  wounded 
Job.  Having  heard  his  account  of  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  they 
shall  have  leave  then  to  proceed  with  their  bitter  taunts  and  insinuations 
if  they  have  a  mind. 

4.  IS  my  complaint  to  man']  Rather,  of,  or,  concerning  man.  The 
whole  first  clause  means,  Is  my  complaint  about  man  ?  ?/iy  emphatic. 
The  words  may  express  a  reason  for  their  listening  to  him,  it  is  not  of 
them  nor  of  men  at  all  that  /le  complains ;  it  is  of  another,  and  of  a 
moral  riddle  and  evil  that  may  well  excuse  his  impatience. 

And  if  it  were  so.  ..troubled]  Rather,  or  wlierefore  should  I  not  be 
impatient  ?  lit.  should  not  my  spirit  be  short? 

5.  The  mystery  which  he  will  lay  before  them  if  they  will  mark  it 
will  strike  them  dumb.  To  "lay  the  hand  upon  the  mouth"  is  a  gesture 
of  awe-struck  silence,  cf.  ch.  xl.  4. 

6.  When  Job  himself  reflects  on  it  he  trembles.  When  I  remember 
means.  When  I  think  of  it. 

7 — 21.  This  great  mystery  ot  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  in  God's 
providence  Job  now  unfolds  on  both  its  sides  :  first,  they  and  all  be- 
longing to  them  prosper,  and  they  die  in  peace,  although  in  conscious 
godlessness  they  bade  the  Almighty  depart  from  them,  vv.  7 — 16;  and 
second,  negatively,  examples  of  calamity  befalling  them  are  few,  vv. 
17 — 21. 

7—16.  The  mystery  is,  W^hy  do  the  wicked  prosper?  They  live 
long,  they  see  their  children  grow  up,  and  their  homes  are  peaceful 
[vv.  7 — 9).  Their  cattle  thrives  {v.  10).  Their  children  and  they  pass 
a  mirthful  life  with  music  and  dance  [vv.  11,  12).  And  with  no  pain  at 
last  they  die,  though  they  had  openly  renounced  God  [vv.  13 — 15). 
Yet  it  is  God  who  bestows  this  prosperity  upon  them  [v.  16). 

7.  Wherefo7-e  do  the  wicked  live]  The  question  scarcely  means,  How 
is  it,  if  your  principles  be  true,  that  the  wicked  live  ?  Job's  mind  is 
engrossed  with  the  great  problem  itself,  and  he  asks,  Why  in  the  govern- 
ment of  a  righteous  God  do  the  wicked  live?  They  not  only  live,  they 
live  to  old  age,  and  wax  mighty  in  the  earth. 

8.  They  have  the  additional  felicity  of  seeing  their  children  grow  up 


vv.  9—15.]  JOB,  XXI.  155 

And  their  offspring  before  their  eyes. 

Their  houses  are  safe  from  fear,  9 

Neither  is  the  rod  of  God  upon  them. 

Their  bull  gendereth,  and  faileth  not;  10 

Their  cow  calveth,  and  casteth  not  her  calf. 

They  send  forth  their  little  ones  Uke  a  flock,  u 

And  their  children  dance. 

They  take  the  timbrel  and  harp,  " 

And  rejoice  at  the  sound  of  the  organ. 

They  spend  their  days  in  wealth,  13 

And  in  a  moment  go  down  to  the  grave. 

Therefore  they  say  unto  God,  Depart  from  us;  14 

For  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways. 

What  is  the  Almighty,  that  we  should  serve  him?  15 

And  what  profit  should  we  have,  if  we  pray  unto  him  ? 

beside  them — a  pathetic  touch  from  the  hand  of  the  man  whose  sons  had   . 
been  taken  from  him. 

9.  Not  merely  themselves  and  their  children  but  their  homes  and  all 
in  them  are  full  of  peace — another  allusion  to  the  rod  of  God  which  had 
fallen  on  all  belonging  to  Job. 

10.  Their  cattle  thrives — no  failure  or  barrenness  assails  them. 

11.  Their  children,  numerous  like  the  flock  and  happy  like  the 
lambs,  skip  in  their  glee  and  sport. 

12.  And  they  themselves  pass  their  days  in  gladness,  surrounded 
with  all  the  charms  of  life. 

They  take  the  tiinln-el]  Rather,  they  sing  to,  i.e.  to  the  accompani- 
ment of,  the  timbrel  and  the  lute ;  lit.  they  lift  up  the  voice,  cf.  Ps. 
xlix.  4.     The  timbrel  is  the  tambourine. 

the  sound  of  the  orgati]  'Rather,  of  the  pipe,  Gen.  iv.  21,  cf. 
Is.  V.  12. 

13.  in  zucalthl  i.e.  weal,  prosperity.  The  word  has  not  here  its 
modem  meaning  of  riches,  but  its  older,  more  general  sense: — "  in  all 
time  of  our  tribulation,  in  all  time  of  our  wealth... good  Lord  deliver 
us."     The  Litany. 

to  the  grave']  Heb.,  to  Sheol.  They  die  in  a  moment  without  pain — 
there  are  no  bands  in  their  death,  Ps.  Ixxiii.  4.  This  idyllic  picture  of  a 
joyous  untroubled  life,  rich  in  possessions  and  filled  with  all  that  gives 
a  charm  to  existence,  and  having  a  peaceful  close,  forms  the  coun- 
terpart to  the  picture  drawn  by  the  friends  of  the  troubled  conscience, 
XV.  20,  the  early  death,  xx.  11,  the  childless  solitariness,  xviii.  19,  and 
the  disastrous  end,  xx.  24,  of  the  wicked  man. 

14.  15.  All  this  joy  and  prosperity  they  enjoyed  though  they  had 
bidden  God  depart  from  them  and  renounced  His  service. 

Therefore  they  say^  Rather,  though  (lit.  and)  they  said.  Their  god- 
lessness  was  not  merely  that  of  passion,  it  was  almost  formal  and  reasoned. 


1 56  JOB,   XXI.  [vv.  16-18. 

Lo,  their  good  is  not  in  their  hand: 

The  counsel  of  the  wicked  is  far  from  me. 
'      How  oft  is  the  candle  of  the  wicked  put  out ! 

And  /ma  oft  cometh  their  destruction  upon  them  ! 

God  distributeth  sorrows  in  his  anger, 
i      They  are  as  stubble  before  the  wind, 

And  as  chaff  that  the  storm  carrieth  away. 

Coverdale's  rendering  of  the  words,  Who  is  the  Almighty?  is  quciint 
and  vigorous,  "  What  maner  of  felowe  is  the  Ahnightie  that  we  shulde 
serve  him?" 

16.  Finally  Job  adverts  to  the  mystery  :  this  prosperity  of  theirs  does 
not  depend  upon  themselves,  it  is  not  of  their  own  making;  it  comes 
from  another,  from  God.  God  prospers  the  wicked,  and  Job  had  else- 
where said  that  lie  mocked  at  the  despair  of  the  innocent,  ix.  23. 

the  counsel  of  the  -wicked  is  far]  Or,  perhaps,  the  counsel  of  the 
wicked  be  far  from  me!  Having  drawn  in  such  attractive  colours  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked,  a  prosperity  given  from  the  hand  of  God,  Job, 
even  in  the  midst  of  his  own  misery,  which  is  also  from  God,  cannot 
refrain  from  repudiating  their  principles— far  be  from  me  the  counsel  (see 
ch.  X.  3,  xviii.  7)  of  the  wicked,  cf.  ch.  xxii.  18.  The  above  seems  the 
most  simple  and  effective  way  of  understanding  this  verse.  Others  take  it 
as  an  objection  of  the  three  friends,  which  Job  anticipates  and  answers; 
Lo!  say  ye,  their  good  is  not  in  their  own  hand ;  the  meaning  being 
that  they  cannot  retain  it,  they  have  no  certainty  of  tenure  of  it,  it  will 
speedily  desert  them  (Hitzig).  To  this  Job  is  then  supposed  to  reply 
in  the  following  verses :  How  often,  then,  is  it  seen  to  desert  them  ?  This 
gives  a  very  good  sense. 

17 — 21.  The  negative  side  of  his  theme  is  now  illustrated  by  Job. 
In  vv.  7—16  he  shewed  that  tlie  wicked  enjoy  great,  life-long  prosperity; 
now  he  shews  that  they  are  free  from  calamity;  such  sudden  and  dis- 
astrous visitations  of  God  do  not  come  upon  them  as  the  friends  inces- 
santly insisted  on.  The  interrogation, How  often?  means,  What  examples 
can  be  produced  of  such  a  thing?  and  goes  to  the  end  of  v.  18. 

17.  How  often  is  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  put  out? 

And  how  often  doth  their  destruction  come  upon  them, 
And  God  distribute  sorrows  in  his  anger? 

18.  How  often  are  they  as  stubble  before  the  wind 
And  as  chaff  that  the  storm  carrieth  away? 

The  A.  v.,  by  making  IIozu  oft !  an  exclamation,  gives  a  sense  the 
opposite  of  that  expressed  by  the  speaker.  The  question  in  the  first 
clause  of  z'.  17  runs  athwart  Bildad's  assertions  ch.  xviii.  5,  6,  The  light 
of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out;  the  second  clause  contradicts  ch.  xviii. 
12;  with  the  third  clause  compare  ch.  xx.  23. 

The  images  in  z/.  18  are  familiar  for  utter  destruction.  They  are 
taken  from  the  threshing-iloor,  which  was  high  and  open  that  the  force 
of  the  wind  might  be  caught  in  winnowing,  cf.  Vs.  i.  4;  Is.  xvii.  13. 


vv.  19—21.]  JOB,   XXI.  157 

God  layeth  up  his  iniquity  for  his  children: 

He  rewardeth  him,  and  he  shall  know  it. 

His  eyes  shall  see  his  destruction, 

And  he  shall  drink  of  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty. 

For  what  pleasure  hath  he  in  his  house  after  him, 

When  the  number  of  his  months  is  cut  off  in  the  midst? 

19 — 21.  A  conceivable  objection,  and  its  answer  by  Job.  The 
verses  read, 

19.  God  (say  ye)  layeth  up  his  iniquity  for  his  children. — 

Let  him  recompense  it  unto  himself,  that  he  may  know  it; 

20.  Let  his  own  eyes  see  his  destruction. 

And  let  him  drinlc  of  the  wratli  of  the  Almighty; 

21.  For  what  concern  hath  he  in  his  house  after  him, 
When  the  number  of  his  months  is  cut  off? 

To  his  argument  that  the  wicked  suffer  no  calamities  Job  supposes 
that  his  friends  may  object,  founding  on  tlie  old  doctrine  of  retribution, 
that  if  the  man  himself  do  not  suffer,  his  children  shall  be  visited  for  his 
iniquity  (Ex.  .xx.  5);  and  his  answer  is.  Let  the  man  himself  suffer.  The 
expression  "that  he  may  know  it  "  means  "that  he  may  feel  it." 

The  word  "concern"  means  "  pleasure  "  as  A.  V.,  but  also,  interest 
in,  care  for ;  so  Coverdale,  For  what  careth  he  what  become  of  his 
household  after  his  death?  The  phrase  "when  the  number  of  his 
months  is  cut  off"  means,  when  his  life  is  ended.  The  words  might  also 
mean,  when  the  (full)  number  of  his  months  is  dealt  out,  distributed  to 
himself — when  his  own  life  is  prolonged  to  its  full  measure.  But  it  is 
not  necessary  to  regard  the  wicked  man  as  so  abandoned  as  to  be 
destitute  of  interest  in  his  children  even  in  his  life-time,  and  indifferent 
to  their  fate  provided  his  own  days  be  prolonged.  Job's  objection  to 
the  doctrine  that  a  man's  iniquity  is  visited  on  his  children  is  that  this  is 
no  punishment  of  the  wicked  man  himself,  for  he  hath  no  concern  in 
or  knowledge  of  his  children's  fate  after  his  uc;;th  (ch.  xiv.  21).  From 
the  Prophetic  Books  of  this  age  it  appears  that  the  ancient  doctrine  of 
retribution,  the  doctrine  that  the  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the 
children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge  (Ezek.  xviii.  2),  had  begun  to  awaken 
questionings,  cf.  Jerem.  xxxi.  29  scq.,  and  in  this  book  such  doubts  are, 
naturally,  brought  to  a  point. 

22 — 26.  By  insisting  on  a  doctrine  of  providence  which  did  not  cor- 
respond to  God's  providence  as  actually  seen  in  facts,  Job's  friends  were 
making  themselves  wiser  than  God  and  becoming  His  teachers — Will 
any  teach  knowledge  unto  God  ?  Shall  we  insist  on  His  method  of 
government  being  what  it  plainly  is  not  ?  This  is  what  it  is :  One  man 
dieth  in  his  full  prosperity, — wholly  at  ease  and  quiet.  Another  man 
dieth  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul  and  has  not  tasted  pleasure.  They  lie 
down  alike  in  the  dust  and  the  worm  covers  them.  Their  different 
fortune  is  not  determined  by  their  different  character.  The  one  is  not 
good  and  the  other  wicked.  But  God  distributes  to  them  as  He  chooses. 
22.     The  emphasis  falls  on  God — Shall  any  teach  knowledge  unto 


158  JOB,   XXI.  [vv.  22—26. 

22  Shall  any  teach  God  knowledge  ? 
Seeing  he  judgeth  those  that  are  high. 

23  One  dieth  in  his  full  strength, 
Being  wholly  at  case  and  (juiet. 

24  His  breasts  are  full  ^milk, 

And  his  bones  are  moistened  with  marrow. 

25  And  another  dieth  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul. 
And  never  eateth  with  pleasure. 

26  They  shall  lie  down  alike  in  the  dust, 
And  the  worms  shall  cover  them. 

God?  The  principles  of  providence  insisted  on  by  the  friends  were  not 
those  according  to  which  God's  actual  providence  was  administered. 
They  were  substituting  their  principles  for  His. 

seeing  he  Judgeth']  The  clause  emphasises  the  word  God  :  Shall  any 
teach  knowledge  unto  God — God  who  judges  those  that  are  high? 
"Those  that  are  high"  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavens;  and  to 
"judge  "  means  to  decide  in  regard  to,  to  bring  His  judicial  power  to 
bear  upon;  the  word  does  not  mean  to  condemn.  God  judges  the 
heavens,  and  shall  one  teach  Him  how  to  rule  the  affairs  of  earth  ?  Cf 
ch.  xxii.  13. 

23.  in  his  full  strength]  lit.  in  his  very  perfection,  or  completeness, 
meaning,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  that  made  his  lot  complete,  wanting 
nothing — as  the  second  clause  explains. 

24.  His  breasts  are  full  of  milk]  Perhaps,  his  vessels  are  full  of 
milk;  but  the  meaning  is  uncertain,  the  word  rendered  "breasts  "  not 
occurring  again.  The  word  howes'er  has  analogies  in  the  cognate 
languages,  and  may  mean  vessels,  or  troughs,  marg.  milk-pails,  the 
reference  being  to  the  plenty  and  richness  of  the  man's  herds  and  posses- 
sions, though  this  is  a  figure  for  plenty  in  general.  By  a  slight  alteration 
in  spelling  the  word  "milk"  means  yiz/",  and  the  ancient  versions  so 
read,  translating,  Ids  in'vards,  or  sides,  are  full  of  fat. 

his  bones  are  moistened  ivitk  marroii<]  Rather,  and  the  marrow  of 
his  bones  is  moistened,  lit.  watered,  i.e.  made  fresh  and  strong.  If 
the  first  clause  be  translated  with  the  ancient  Versions  this  clause  is 
parallel  in  sense ;  otherwise,  it  describes  the  effect  of  his  plenty  on  tlie 
man  himself 

25.  A  different  history ;  cf  Job's  words  of  himself,  ch.  iii.  20, 
vii.  II. 

never  eateth  with  pleasure]  Rather,  and  hath  not  tasted  (lit.  eaten) 
of  good. 

26.  Wholly  different  in  life  the  two  arc  alike  in  death ;  cf.  Eccles. 
ii.  15  seq. 

They  shall  lie  down]  They  lie  down.     Similarly,  the  worms  cover. 

27 — 34.  Finally,  still  pursuing  his  argument.  Job  turns  to  the  in- 
sinuations of  his  friends  against  himself,  which  lie  under  their  descrip- 
tions of  the  fate  of  the  wicked.     He  knows  what  they  mean  when  they 


w.  27-3 T.]  JOB,  XXT. 139 

Behold,  I  know  your  thoughts,  _  _  =7 

And  the  devices  which  ye  wrongfully  imagine  against  me. 

For  ye  say.  Where  is  the  house  of  the  prince  ?  23 

And  where  are  the  dweUing  places  of  the  wicked  ? 

Have  ye  not  asked  them  that  go  by  the  way  ?  29 

And  do  ye  not  know  their  tokens, 

That  the  wicked  is  reserved  to  the  day  of  destruction  ?       30 

They  shall  be  brought  forth  to  the  day  of  wrath. 

Who  shall  declare  his  way  to  his  face  ?  31 

And  who  shall  repay  him  what  he  hath  done  ? 

say,  Where  is  the  house  of  the  prince?  But  their  conclusions  were 
against  tlie  testimony  of  those  who  had  travelled  far  and  seen  much. 
These  testified  that  the  wicked  man  was  preserved  in  the  day  of  destruc- 
tion ;  that  he  came  to  an  honoured  grave,  and  the  clods  of  the  valley 
lay  softly  on  him  ;  and  that  his  example,  so  far  from  being  shunned,  was 
followed  by  the  mass  of  men,  as  there  were  multitudes  that  preceded 
him  in  the  way  he  walked. 

27.  Job  knows  the  covert  meaning  that  lies  under  his  friends'  talk  of 
the  fate  of  the  wicked  man. 

28.  house  of  the  prince\  "  Prince"  here  perhaps  in  a  bad  sense  like 
the  classical  "  tyrant,"  cf.  Is.  xiii.  2. 

the  dwelling  places  of  the  wicked]  Or,  the  tents  in  -which  the 
wicked  dwelt,  lit.  the  tent  of  the  dzuellings  of  the  wicked.  The  question, 
Where  is  the  house  of  the  prince?  implies  that  it  has  been  swept  away 
and  has  disappeared. 

29.  30.  Travellers  give  a  different  account  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked ; 
they  tell  that  he  is  spared  in  the  day  of  destruction  : 

29  Have  ye  not  asked  them  that  go  by  the  way, 
And  do  ye  not  regard  their  tokens, 

30  That  the  wicked  is  spared  in  the  day  of  destruction. 
That  they  are  led  forth  in  the  day  of  wrath? 

29.  them  that  go  by  the  way]  The  travellers  ;  here  those  who  have 
travelled  far,  or  come  from  a  distance,  and  are  full  of  experience. 

do  ye  tiot  know  their  tokens]  Or,  regard.  Their  "tokens"  are  no 
doubt  the  proofs,  or  examples  which  they  bring  forward.  The  word 
"regard,"  or  have  respect  to,  is  so  used  ch.  xxxiv.  19.  In  other  places 
it  means  "  not  to  acknowledge,"  to  repudiate ;  with  this  sense  the 
meaning  would  be,  and  ye  will  not  (surely)  reject  their  tokens. 

30.  they  shall  be  brought  forth  to]  Rather,  they  are  led  forth 
in,  i.e.  led  away  in  safety  Irom  the  destroying  wrath,  parallel  to 
"spared"  or  v/ithholden,  in  the  first  clause;  cf.  Is.  Iv.  12  {led  fo7'th), 
or  "conducted,"  Ps.  xlv.  14. 

31.  The  person  spoken  of  in  this  verse  seems  most  naturally  the 
wicked  man.  It  is  doubtful  however  whether  the  testimony  of  the 
travellers  is  here  still  carried  on,  or  whether  the  present  words  are  not 
those  of  Job  himself.     The  history  of  the  evil  man  is  proceeded  with  : 


i6o  JOB,  XXI.  [vv.  32,  33. 

Yet  shall  he  be  brought  to  the  grave, 

And  shall  remain  in  the  tomb. 

The  clods  of  the  valley  shall  be  sweet  unto  him, 

his  power  makes  him  irresponsible  and  extorts  the  homage  of  men, 
who  do  him  honour  in  death  (v.  32).  Others  suppose  the  verse  to  be 
spoken  of  God,  in  wliich  case  the  words  are  almost  parenthetical,  the 
history  of  the  sinner  being  resumed  in  z/.  32.  If  said  of  God  the  verse 
refers  to  the  inscrutable  dealings  of  His  omnipotent  power  (v.  30), 
dealings  against  which  tiie  moral  sense  of  mankind  reclaims  indeed, 
but  of  what  avail  are  the  reclamations  of  the  moral  sense  against  om- 
nipotence? cf.  ch.  ix.  12,  xxiii.  13.  The  language,  however,  seems 
less  appropriate  if  spoken  of  God. 

32,  33.  The  wicked  man  is  buried  in  honour ;  and  his  example 
followed. 

32  And  he  is  carried  to  the  grave, 
And  they  keep  watch  over  his  tomb ; 

33  The  clods  of  the  valley  are  sweet  unto  him ; 
And  all  men  draw  after  him, 

As  there  were  innumerable  before  him. 

32.  Yei  shall  he  be  brought]  Rather,  and  he  is  carried,  as  above. 
Comp.  ch.  X.  19,  where  Job  uses  the  same  language  of  his  own  burial. 
The  word  is  that  used  in  v.  30  (led  forth,  cf.  reff.j,  and  suggests  the 
pomp  and  slow  solemnity  of  his  interment. 

shall  remain  in  the  toi)ib\  Rather,  as  above,  keep  "watch  over  his 
tomb,  lit.  his  heap  (ch.  v.  26  of  a  heap  of  sheaves),  meaning  the 
monument  raised  over  him.  This  may  have  been  first  a  heap  of  stones, 
but  naturally  the  word  might  be  used  in  a  wider  sense  of  any  seindchral 
monument.  This  is  watched  against  desecration.  In  the  Sidonian 
inscription  on  the  tomb  of  Eshmun'azar  that  monarch  utters  deep 
curses  against  any  who  shall  violate  his  grave.  Instead  of  "  they  keep 
watch"  others  render  "he  watches,"  considering  the  reference  to  be  to 
tlie  effigy  of  the  deceased  graven  upon  his  sarcophagus.  Tiie  practice 
of  making  such  an  effigy  was  connnon  in  Egypt,  and  the  Author  of  the 
Book  might  be  fixmiliar  with  it.  But  the  practice  was  not  unknown 
elsewliere.  The  sarcophagus  of  Eshmun'azar  has  such  an  effigy,  the 
inscription  of  22  lines  being  cut  upon  the  breast  and  body  of  the  figure, 
and  again  in  part  around  the  head.  The  Author  of  the  Book  is  fond 
of  alluding  to  customs  and  things  not  specifically  Ilelirew.  At  the 
same  time,  whether  we  render  "they  watch  over,"  or  "he  watches 
upon,"  the  words  might  be  used  in  a  less  precise  sense,  meaning  in 
the  one  case  that  they  looked  with  respect  or  reverence  to  his  place  of 
sepulture,  and  in  the  other  that  his  memory  and  life  were  perpetuated 
in  the  monument  upon  his  tomb. 

33.  After  life's  fever  he  sleeps  well.     Eurip.  Alces.  462, 

Kov(pa.  aoi 
Xdwv  iTrduu  nricue  7wat. 
Sit  tibi  terra  levis,  Light  fall  the  dust  upon  thee. 


V.  34-]  JOB,  XXI.  XXII.  i6i 

And  every  man  shall  draw  after  him, 

As  there  are  innumerable  before  him. 

How  then  comfort  ye  me  in  vain,  3 

Seeing  in  your  answers  there  remaineth  falsehood  ? 

draw  after  Jiim'\  The  prosperous  wicked  man  has  innumerable  suc- 
cessors and  imitators,  just  as  he  was  preceded  by  countless  others 
whom  he  resembled,  Eccles.  iv.  15,  16. 

34.  Job  feels  he  has  refuted  the  theories  of  his  friends  in  regard  \.o 
the  pretended  calamities  and  misery  of  the  wicked  man,  whether  in  life 
or  death.  Hence  their  attempts  to  comfort  him  by  this  line  of  thinking 
are  vain. 

there  remaineth  falsehood'^  i.e.  there  is  left  (only)  falsehood.  When 
Job's  proofs  to  the  contrary  are  subtracted  from  the  answers  of  his 
friends,  there  is  left  in  them  only  the  wrongful,  false  disposition  they 
shew  towards  him. 

Ch.  XXII. —XXXI.    The  Third  Circle  of  Speeches. 

In  the  first  round  of  speeches  the  three  friends  exhausted  the  argu- 
ment from  the  general  conception  of  God.  In  the  second  they  exhausted 
the  argument  from  the  operation  of  His  providence  in  the  world,  as 
observed  in  the  fate  of  the  wicked.  To  the  last  Job  had  replied  by  a 
direct  contradiction,  adducing  facts  and  testimony  in  proof  that  the  fate 
of  the  wicked  man  in  God's  providence  was  in  no  way  so  uniformly 
miserable  as  the  three  friends  had  represented  (ch.  xxi.)  There  is, 
manifestly,  now  left  but  one  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  three  friends, 
namely,  to  express  openly  what  they  had  hinted  at  formerly  in  a  veiled 
manner,  and  charge  Job  directly  with  great  sins.  This  charge  is  made 
by  Eliphaz  in  the  opening  speech  of  the  third  round  of  debate 
(ch.  xxii.) 

As  in  the  two  preceding  circles  of  debate,  Job's  mind  is  too  much 
absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  the  great  mystery  of  providence,  which 
he  had  set  before  himself  in  ch.  xxi.,  to  be  able  for  a  time  to  give  heed 
to  the  shameful  charges  of  Eliphaz  against  him.  He  dwells  in  his 
reply  still,  continuing  the  thought  of  ch.  xxi.,  upon  the  riddle  of  God's 
rule  of  the  world.  He  misses  rectitude  in  this  rule,  and  can  observe  no 
principle  of  moral  government  as  he  understands  it.  This  is  true  not 
only  in  his  own  instance  (ch.  xxiii.),  but  also  on  the  broad  field  of  tlie 
world  in  general  (ch.  xxiv.)  God,  though  He  knows  his  innocence, 
has  resolved  to  destroy  him  (ch.  xxiii.  13).  It  is  this  feeling  about  God 
that  terrifies  and  paralyses  him,  not  his  mere  calamities  in  themselves 
(ch.  xxiii.  15 — 17).  But  the  same  absence  of  righteousness  in  the  rule 
of  the  world  is  observed  everywhere.  Men  cannot  perceive  God  doing 
judgment  and  dispensing  righteousness  among  them  (ch.  xxiv.  i). 

Bildad  in  his  reply  (ch.  xxv.)  passes  by  the  facts  adduced  by  Job, 
and  touches  only  his  arrogance  in  assuming  to  be  innocent  before  God  : 
How  should  man,  who  is  a  worm,  be  pure  before  the  omnipotent  ruler 
of  the  world  ?     Such  words  in  no  way  help  Job.     He  knows  God's 

JOB  II 


i62  JOB,  XXII. 

power  and  greatness  not  less  than  Bildad,  and  he  replies  by  rivalling 
this  speaker  in  extolling  the  greatness  of  God  (ch.  xxvi.). 

Then  he  comes  to  what  he  had  not  yet  directly  touched  upon,  the 
charges  of  wickedness  made  against  him.  These  he  denies  under  a 
solemn  oath  (ch.  xxvii.  i — 6).  Here  follow  in  ch.  xxvii.  7  scq.  and  ch. 
xxviii.  two  passages  which  are  difficult  to  fit  into  this  part  of  the  13ook. 

Finally  Job  takes  a  comprehensive  survey  of  his  mysterious  history  as 
a  whole,  ch.  xxix.— xxxi : — 

First,  looking  back  with  pathetic  regret  upon  his  former  days,  when 
his  children  were  about  him  and  he  was  prosperous  and  honoured 
among  men,  ch.  xxix. ; 

Second,  contrasting  with  this  happier  past  his  present  abasement, 
the  contempt  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  lowest  of  mankind,  and  the 
mysterious  afflictions  of  God  upon  him,  ch.  xxx. ; 

And  third,  protesting  that  this  affliction  had  come  upon  him  for  no 
sin  of  which  he  had  been  guilty;  and  ending  with  tlie  impassioned  cry 
that  God  would  make  known  to  him  the  charge  which  He  has  against 
him,  ch.  xxxi. 


Ch.  XXII.    Eliphaz  d-irectly  charges  Job  with 
GREAT  Wickedness. 

Nothing  now  remains  for  the  Friends  but  to  make  against  Job 
openly  the  charge  of  great  wickedness  which  they  had  hitherto  only 
covertly  insinuated.  Eliphaz  makes  this  charge  in  the  present  chapter. 
The  charge,  however,  arises  naturally  out  of  Job's  last  speech.  He 
had  there  spoken  as  if  no  moral  principle  could  be  detected  in  God's 
treatment  of  men  (xxi.  23 — 26).  He  had  said  the  like  of  this,  indeed, 
before,  but  only  in  the  heat  of  debate  (ix.  22) :  now  he  propouixled  the 
theory  as  part  of  a  settled  conviction,  and  sustained  it  by  arguments. 
Moreover,  his  fascinating  pictures  of  the  felicity  and  joyous  existence  of 
the  wicked,  who  bade  God  depart  from  them,  were  painful  to  a 
righteous  mind,  and  naturally  suggested  that,  in  spite  of  his  professed 
repudiation  of  them  (xxi.  16),  he  was  in  secret  sympathy  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  such  men  (xxii.  15).  To  these  two  points  in  Job's  speech 
Eliphaz  attaches  his  rejoinder. 

First,  to  Job's  statement  that  he  missed  all  principle  of  righteousness 
in  God's  providential  rule  of  men  Eliphaz  replies  that  there  must  be 
some  principle  in  it.  The  cause  of  God's  afflicting  a  man  is  not  to  be 
sought  for  in  God  Himself,  as  if  it  arose  out  of  any  self-seeking  on 
His  part,  or  any  respect  He  had  to  Himself,  for  a  man's  righteousness 
is  no  profit  to  God,  neither  is  his  wickedness  any  loss  to  Him.  The 
reason  of  God's  treatment  of  men  is  therefore  to  be  sought  in  them- 
selves. But  it  is  inconceivable  that  He  should  chastise  a  man  for  his 
piety.     It  must  therefore  be  for  his  sins  (^ov.  2 — 5). 

Having  by  means  of  this  syllogism  confirmed  his  conviction  of  Job's 
guiltiness,  Eliphaz  proceeds  to  suggest  what  sins  Job  must  have  com- 
mitted, which  are  those  that  a  powerful,  irresponsible,  rich  ruler  of  his 
time  might  most  naturally  be  guilty  of  {^jv.  6 — 10). 


vv.  I— 4.J  JOB,  XXII.  163 

Then  Eliphaz  the  Temanite  answered  and  said,  22 

Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto  God,  a 

As  he  that  is  wise  may  be  profitable  unto  himself? 
Is  it  afiy  pleasure  to  the  Almighty,  that  thou  art  righteous  ?  3 
Or  is  it  gain  to  him,  that  thou  makest  thy  ways  perfect  ? 
Will  he  reprove  thee  for  fear  of  thee  ?  4 

Will  he  enter  with  thee  into  judgment  ? 

Then  Job's  pictures  of  the  joyous  life  of  the  wicked  man  suggest  to 
EHphaz  "the  kind  of  feehng  under  which,  no  doubt,  Job  committed  the 
sins  which  he  must  be  guiky  of.  It  was  under  the  feeling  that  God  was 
enthroned  on  high  in  heaven  and  took  no  note  of  the  affairs  of  earth — 
How  doth  God  know  ?  This  was  the  state  of  mind  of  the  ancient 
sinners  who  were  carried  away  by  a  flood,  and  Ehphaz  earnestly  warns 
Job  against  such  a  feeling  {vv.  12 — 20). 

Finally  he  exhorts  Job  to  reconcile  himself  with  God,  making  Him 
his  treasure  and  casting  away  earthly  treasures.  Then  shall  he  have 
peace  and  great  prosperity  [vv.  21 — 36). 

2 — 5.  God's  treatment  of  men  cannot  be  due  to  any  respect  which 
He  has  to  Himself,  for  He  is  too  lofty  to  be  affected  by  anything 
human.  He  deals  with  men  according  to  their  ways,  and  Job's  afflic- 
tions can  be  due  only  to  his  sin. 

2.  This  verse  reads, 

Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto  God  ? 
Nay,  he  that  is  wise  is  profitable  unto  himself. 
A  man's  actions  cannot  affect  God  ;  the  advantage  of  wisdom,  that  is, 
prudent  and  right  conduct,  can  only  accrue  to  a  man  himself 

3.  Is  it  any  pleasure]  Or,  advantage,  concern  ;  see  on  ch.  xxi.  ■zi. 
The  idea  that  men's  actions  cannot  affect  God  is  common  in  the 
Book,  see  ch.  vii.  10,  xxxv.  5 — 8.  Verses  2,  3  go  together,  and  express 
this  single  conception  that  God's  treatment  of  men  is  not  due  to  any 
respect  He  has  to  Himself,  but  is  strictly  according  to  the  character 
of  men. 

4.  God's  treatment  of  men  being  for  their  sakes  and  according  to 
what  they  are,  it  is  inconceivable  that  He  should  chastise  them  for  their 
piety. 

for  fear  of  thee  "[  Rather,  for  thy  (godly)  fear,  thy  piety;  comp.  ch. 
iv.  6,  XV.  4  for  this  use  of  the  word^ar  by  Eliphaz.  The  words  scarcely 
contain  the  idea  that  if  God  derived  advantage  from  men's  piety  He 
might  be  supposed  to  afflict  them  in  order  to  increase  their  godliness 
(Ew.).  The  simple  thought  is  that  man's  conduct  does  not  affect  God. 
If  God  deals  with  man  it  is  on  account  of  man  himself.  Can  it  be  sup- 
posed then  that  God  would  afflict  a  man  because  he  is  pious?  {v.  4). 
This  is  too  extravagant  a  suggestion,  therefore  if  Job  is  afflicted  it  is  for 
his  sins  {v.  5).  V.  4  forms  a  mere  foreground  to  v.  5  seq.,  in  order  to 
suggest  by  contrast  the  real  cause  of  Job's  calamities. 

6 — 9.    Job's  afflictions  are  because  of  his  sins — sins  which  Eliphaz 

II 2 


i64  JOB,  XXII.  [vv.  5— II. 

Is  not  thy  wickedness  great? 

And  thine  iniquities  infinite? 

For  thou  hast  taken  a  pledge  from  thy  brother  for  nought, 

And  stripped  the  naked  of  their  clothing. 

Thou  hast  not  given  water  to  the  weary  to  drink, 

And  thou  hast  withholden  bread  from  the  hungry. 

But  as  for  the  mighty  man,  he  had  the  earth; 

And  the  honourable  man  dwelt  in  it. 

Thou  hast  sent  widows  away  empty, 

And  the  arms  of  the  fatherless  have  been  broken. 

Therefore  snares  are  round  about  thee, 

And  sudden  fear  troubleth  thee; 

Or  darkness,  thai  thou  canst  not  see; 

And  abundance  of  waters  cover  thee. 


now  suggests  and  enumerates.  They  are  such  sins  as  a  powerful  Ori- 
ental ruler  naturally  falls  into,  inhumanity,  avarice,  and  abuse  of 
power. 

6.  Compare  the  laws,  Ex.  xxii.  16  ;  Deut.  xxiv.  10.  The  "  naked  " 
are  those  poorly  clad.     See  Job's  reply  to  this,  ch.  \x\i.  19, 

7.  Compare  Job's  answer,  ch.  xxxi.  16,  17. 

8.  The  "mighty  man,"  lit.  7na>i  of  arm,  i.e.  the  powerful  (Ps.  x.  15), 
and  the  "  honourable,"  lit.  man  of  respect,  i.e.  high  in  rank  (Is.  iii.  5),  is 
of  course  Job  himself. 

he  had  the  earth]   Or,  his  is  the  land. 

dwelt  in  it]    Or,  shall  dwell  in  it. 

These  words  describe  the  feeling  that,  according  to  the  supposition 
of  Eliphaz,  pervaded  Job's  conduct — his  idea  was  that  the  land  or  earth 
belonged  to  him,  and  under  this  feeling  he  oppressed  the  poor  and 
drove  them  from  it. 

9.  His  treatment  ot  widows — he  ejected  them  empty;  or  when  they 
came  seeking  redress,  or  pleading  their  rights,  he  let  them  go  unheard. 
Comp.  Job's  own  language  as  to  himself,  ch.  xxix.  13,  xxxi.  16. 

The  "arms"  of  the  fatherless  are  their  helps  or  rights,  on  which  they 
relied,  and  by  which  they  were  supported. 

10.  11.  The  consequence  of  this  inhumanity  and  injustice  is  seen  in 
the  snares  and  terrors  from  God  that  surround  Job. 

11.  This  verse  should  probably  be  read, 

Or  seest  thou  not  the  darkness. 

And  the  floods  of  waters  that  cover  thee? 

i.e.  dost  thou  not  perceive  the  tnie  meaning  of  the  darkness  and  the 
overwhelming  calamities  that  have  come  on  thee  ?  On  the  figures  comp. 
ch.  xviii.  18;  xi.  16;  xxvii.  20.     See  Job's  reply,  ch.  xxiii.  16,  i". 

12 — 20.  Eliphaz,  having  in  vv.  6 — 10  suggested  what  Job's  offences 
must  have  been,  now  suggests  under  what  feeling  in  regard  to  God  he 


w.  12—18.]  JOB,   XXII.  165 

Is  not  God  in  the  height  of  heaven  ? 

And  behold  the  height  of  the  stars,  how  high  they  are. 

And  thou  sayest.  How  doth  God  know  ? 

Can  he  judge  through  the  dark  cloud? 

Thick  clouds  are  a  covering  to  him,  that  he  seeth  not; 

And  he  walketh  in  the  circuit  of  heaven. 

Hast  thou  marked  the  old  way 

Which  wicked  men  have  trodden? 

Which  were  cut  down  out  of  time, 

Whose  foundation  was  overflown  tait/i  a  flood : 

Which  said  unto  God,  Depart  from  us: 

And  what  can  the  Almighty  do  for  them  ? 

Yet  he  filled  their  houses  with  good  things: 

But  the  counsel  of  the  wicked  is  far  from  me. 

must  have  committed  them.  He  thought  God  so  far  removed  from  the 
world  that  He  did  not  observe  men's  conduct. 

12,  13.  Eliphaz  points  to  God's  place  of  abode  in  the  lofty  heavens 
(v.  12) ;  and  under  this  feeling  of  His  infinite  distance  from  the  earth 
Job  said,  How  doth  God  know?  Men's  conduct  was  not  observed  by 
Him  ;  the  thick  clouds  obscured  His  vision. 

And  thou  sayest\  Rather,  and  tliou  saidst.  On  this  mode  of  thought 
comp.  Ps.  xciv.  7  ;  Is.  xxix.  15  ;  Ezek.  viii.  12. 

14.  in  the  circuit  of  heaven^  Rather,  on  the  circle,  i.  e.  the  arch  of 
heaven  that  overspans  the  earth,  Is.  xl.  22. 

15.  It  was  under  a  similar  feeling  in  regard  to  God  that  the  great 
sinners  before  the  Flood  filled  the  earth  with  violence,  and  Eliphaz  asks 
Job  whether  he  will  go  the  length  of  accepting  the  principles  and 
following  the  conduct  of  such  men?  Compare  the  words  of  Elihu, 
ch.  xxxiv.  8. 

Hast  thou  marked  the  old  way]  Rather,  wilt  thou  keep...  ?  i.  e.  follow 
the  path  they  walked  in. 

16.  out  o/time]  i.e.  before  their  time,  prematurely,  by  the  judgment 
of  God  for  their  sin.     Comp.  xv.  32. 

whose  foundation  was  overthivwn]  lit.  whose  foundation  was  poured 
away  and  became  a  flood — that  on  which  they  stood  became  a  flood  in 
which  they  sank.  The  reference  is  probably  to  the  Deluge,  though 
others,  e.g.  Ewald,  think  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain. 

17.  do  for  theni\  Rather,  do  unto  them. 

18.  Eliphaz  expresses  his  abhorrence  of  the  ingratitude  and  evil 
principles  of  such  men,  repeating  the  words  employed  by  Job,  ch.  xxi.  16 
(far  be  from  me  the  counsel  of  the  wicked) ;  but  while  Job  referred  to 
the  worldly  prosperity  of  such  persons,  in  spite  of  their  ungodliness, 
Eliphaz  lays  stress  upon  their  sure  destruction,  and  how  the  righteous 
see  in  their  downfall  an  illustration  of  God's  righteous  rule  of  the  world 
{^ov.  19,  20). 


i66  JOB,  XXII.  [vv.  19—23- 

The  righteous  see  it,  and  are  glad: 

And  the  innocent  laugh  them  to  scorn. 

Whereas  our  substance  is  not  cut  down, 

But  the  remnant  of  them  the  nre  consumeth. 

Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him,  and  be  at  peace: 

Thereby  good  shall  come  luito  thee. 

Receive,  I  pray  thee,  the  law  from  his  mouth. 

And  lay  up  his  words  in  thine  heart. 

If  thou  return  to  the  Almighty,  thou  shalt  be  built  tip, 

Thou  shalt  put  away  iniquity  far  from  thy  tabernacles. 

19,  20.     These  two  verses  are  connected  together, 

19.  The  righteous  see  it  and  are  glad, 
And  the  innocent  laugh  them  to  scorn, 

20.  Sayhig,  Surely  our  adversaries  are  cut  off, 

And  that  which  they  have  left  the  hre  hath  consumed. 
The  "remnant"  of  the  wicked,  or  "that  which  they  leave,"  is  their 
substance  and  possessions. 

21 — 30.  Eliphaz  exhorts  Job  to  reconcile  himself  with  God ;  assuring 
him  of  restoration  and  great  felicity  if  he  will  do  so. 

The  passage  consists  of  two  parts,  first,  a  series  of  exhortations,  each 
of  which  is  accompanied  by  a  promise  {vv.  21 — 25);  and  second,  a 
series  of  great  promises  simply  (z>v.  26 — 30).  The  exhortations  are  :  (i) 
that  Job  should  reconcile  himself  with  God  and  receive  His  words  into 
his  heart — thus  should  he  be  in  peace  and  good  would  come  to  him 
(vv.  21,  22);  (2)  that  he  should  put  away  his  evil — then  should  he  be 
restored  (v.  23)  ;  (3)  that  he  should  set  liis  heart  no  more  on  earthly 
treasure,  but  fling  it  to  the  dust  and  among  the  pebbles  of  the  brooks — 
then  should  the  Almighty  be  his  treasure  (tjv.  24,  25).  The  promises 
are  :  (i)  that,  delighting  himself  in  the  Almighty,  he  would  be  able  to 
lift  up  his  face  to  God  iu  confidence,  unashamed  by  afflictions  (v.  26) ; 
(2)  he  would  pray  unto  God  with  the  assurance  of  being  heard,  and  the 
vows  which  he  made  to  God  when  presenting  his  request  he  would 
have  cause  to  pay,  his  request  being  I'ulfilled  {v.  27) ;  (3)  his  purposes 
in  regard  to  the  future  would  slanil  and  be  realized,  for  the  light  of  God 
would  be  on  his  ways  (v.  28)  ;  (4)  any  casting  down  that  might  happen 
to  him  would  speedily  be  turned  by  God  into  up-raising,  because  of  his 
meekness  and  humility  (?'.  29) ;  and  finally,  even  others  who  had 
incurred  guilt  would  be  saved  through  his  availing  prayer  {v.  30). 

21.  aud  l>€  at  pcaci-\  i.  e.  thus  shalt  thou  have  peace,  or,  safety. 

22.  the  liuvX  Or,  instruction.  The  word  is  a  general  expression  for 
"every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God,"  as  the  parallel 
"his  words"  in  the  next  clause  indicates.  Comp.  Job's  reply  to  this 
advice,  ch.  xxiii.  11,  12. 

23.  hicilt  7ip\  i.e.  probably  n'/'/////,  or,  restored. 

thou  shalt  put  a7vay\  Or,  if  thou  put  away.  The  words  take  up  "  if 
thou  return  "  of  the  first  clause. 


vv.  24— 29-]  JOB,  XXII.  167 

Then  shalt  thou  lay  up  gold  as  dust,  =4 

And  the  gold  of  Ophir  as  the  stones  of  the  brooks. 

Yea,  the  Almighty  shall  be  thy  defence,  25 

And  thou  shale  have  plenty  of  silver. 

For  then  shalt  thou  have  thy  delight  in  the  Almighty,         26 

And  shalt  lift  up  thy  face  unto  God. 

Thou  shalt  make  thy  prayer  unto  hini,  and  he  shall  hear  27 

thee. 
And  thou  shalt  pay  thy  vows. 
Thou  shalt  also  decree  a  thing,  and  it  shall  be  established  2S 

unto  thee: 
And  the  light  shall  shine  upon  thy  ways. 
When  mai  are  cast  down,  then  thou  shalt  say,  There  is  23 

lifting  up; 
And  he  shall  save  the  humble  person. 

24,  25.     These  verses  read, 

■24.     And  lay  thou  thy  treasure  in  the  dust, 

And  gold  of  Opliir  among  the  stones  of  the  brooks  ; 

25.     Then  shall  the  Almighty  be  thy  treasure, 
And  silver  in  plenty  unto  thee. 

The  word  rendered  "treasure"  means  properly  o;r.  Theexpression  "silver 
in  plenty"  is  obscure,  meaning  perhaps  "silver  in  bars,"  a  phrase  which 
may  signify  "precious"  rather  than  plentiful  silver.  The  word  occurs 
again,  Numb,  xxiii.  22,xxiv.  S,  of  the  "horns"  of  the  "unicorn"  (wild- 
ox),  and  in  Ps.  xcv.  4,  of  something  pertaining  to  mountains,  probably 
the  "towering  heights."  The  Arabic  poets  compare  the  glittering 
peaks  of  distant  mountains  suddenly  appearing  to  gleaming  swords 
Ijrandished  upright.  The  word  seems  to  express  the  idea  of  rising  up 
in  great  length.  Most  interpreters  think  oi  bars  of  silver;  the  A.  V.  has 
uniformly  stroigth,  as  here  in  marg. 

Eliphaz  exhorts  Job  to  fling  earthly  treasures  away  from  him,  making 
God  his  treasure.     Comp.  the  reply  of  Job,  ch.  xxxi.  24,  25. 

26.  lift  up  thy  face  unto  God\  i.  e.  in  confidence,  and  no  more 
ashamed  by  God's  afflictions.     Cf.  x.  15  and  xi.  15. 

27.  pay  thy  vows\  In  making  requests  in  prayer  it  was  customary  to 
make  a  vow  to  sacrifice  or  offer  unto  the  Lord  if  the  prayer  was  granted. 
Job  shall  have  cause  to  fulfil  his  vows,  his  prayers  being  heard. 

29.  When  men  are  cast  down]  The  words  must  mean  either  :  when 
they  (i.e.  thy  ways,  v.  28)  go  downwards,  when  decline  or  misfortune 
befalls  thee  ;  or,  when  tnen  cast  thee  do%vn. 

there  is  lifting  up]  The  word  "  lifting  up  "  or  simply,  "  Up  !"  is  that 
which  Job  shall  utter  in  prayer.  The  "humble  person,"  lit. /^m  that 
is  lowly  of  eyes,  is  of  course  Job  himself. 


i68  JOB,   XXII,   XXIII.  [v,  30. 

He  shall  deliver  the  island  of  the  innocent: 

And  it  is  delivered  by  the  pureness  of  thine  hands. 

30.  the  island  of  the  imiocctit\  Rather,  him  that  is  not  innocent. 
Even  others  who  are  blameworthy  shall  be  saved  through  Job's  inter- 
cession, because  of  the  cleanness  of  his  hands,  for  the  elfeclual  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much.  The  curious  translation 
"island  of  the  innocent"  arose  from  confounding  '/,  an  unusual  form  of 
the  privative  particle  "not,"  with  '/,  an  island.  This  form  of  the  jHiva- 
tive  appears  occasionally  in  proper  names  as,  /-chabod,  "not  glory" 
(inglorious).     For  ajid  it  is,  better,  yea,  he  shall  toe. 

The  charges  of  unrighteousness  [w.  5 — 11)  and  ungodliness  [w.  12  — 
17),  which  Eliphaz  allows  himself  to  make  against  Job,  furnish  a  singular 
illustration  of  the  length  to  which  good  men  will  suffer  their  theoretical 
opinions  in  religion  to  caiTy  them.  His  concluding  words,  however 
(vv.  21 — 30),  are  conciliatory  and  humane,  and  not  unworthy  of  the 
very  aged  and  very  devout  speaker. 

Ch.  XXIII.— XXIV.  Job's  Reply  to  the  Third  Speech  of 
Eliphaz.  Job  continues  to  miss  any  Moral  Government 
OF  the  World  by  God. 

As  before,  in  the  two  preceding  cycles  of  debate.  Job's  mind  is  too 
much  absorbed  in  contemplation  of  the  painful  mystery  of  God's  pro- 
vidence, which  he  had  set  before  his  view  in  ch.  xxi. ,  to  be  able  yet 
to  turn  away  from  it  and  give  attention  to  the  direct  charges  of  wicked- 
ness which  Eliphaz  made  against  him  (ch.  xxii.  i — 10).  The  riddle  of 
the  painful  earth  still  fascinates  him,  the  injustice  and  cruel  wrong  that 
goes  unpunished,  the  misery  of  the  poor  and  innocent,  and  the  peaceful 
end  of  llagrant  transgressors,  who  are  "of  those  who  rebel  against  the 
light"  (ch.  xxiv.  13).  What  he  misses  in  the  world  is  any  true  retri- 
butive rule  of  God  (ch.  xxiv.  i),  who  "gives  no  heed  to  wrong"  (ch. 
xxiv.  12).  The  two  chapters  give  broad  expression  to  this  thought, 
first,  in  reference  to  Job  himself,  ch.  xxiii.;  and  second,  in  regard  to 
the  world  of  mankind  in  general,  ch.  xxiv. 

Cii.  XXIII.     The  mysterious  injustice  suffered  by  Job  at 
the  hand  of  God. 

First,  vv.  2 — 7,  with  his  mind  full  of  the  sense  of  his  own  innocence, 
and  of  the  mysterious  wrong  which  he  suffers  from  God,  Job  gives  new 
and  importunate  expression  to  the  wish  that  he  knew  where  to  find 
God,  and  that  he  could  come  to  I  lis  tribunal  and  judgment-seat.  Then 
he  would  set  his  cause  fully  before  Ilim,  and  hear  from  the  Almighty 
His  plea  against  him,  sure  that  his  innocence  would  appear  .ind  that  he 
would  be  delivered  for  ever  from  his  judge. 

Second,  vv.  8 — 12,  from  this  dream  of  a  judgment-seat  of  God  such 
as  the  judgment-seat  of  a  human  judge  who  would  "give  heed"  to  him. 
Job  suddenly  awakens  to  the  feeling  of  what  his  actual  position  is. 
He  cannot  find  God,  whose  presence  he  feels ;  He  everywhere  eludes 


vv.  1—3.]  JOB,   XXIII.  169 

Then  Job  answered  and  said,  23 

Even  to  day  is  my  complaint  bitter:  2 

My  stroke  is  heavier  than  my  groaning. 
O  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him  !  3 

That  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat ! 

him.  Nay,  He  does  this  of  purpose,  knowing  Job's  innocence  and  that 
if  He  tried  him  he  would  come  forth  as  gold,  for  all  his  life  long  he  has 
kept  His  way  and  not  departed  from  the  commandments  of  His  lips. 

Third,  vv.  13 — 17.  But  He  is  unchangeable  in  His  purpose.  He 
has  resolved  to  destroy  Job,  and  who  can  turn  Him  from  that  on  which 
He  has  set  His  mind  ?  It  is  this  arbitrary,  mysterious  way  of  God  that 
confounds  and  paralyses  Job's  mind,  not  his  calamities  or  his  death  in 
itself. 

2.  The  A.  V.  is  almost  certainly  wrong  in  its  rendering  of  this  verse, 
though  a  more  satisfactory  rendering  is  hard  to  give.  The  text  is  pro- 
bably faulty.  Literally  rendered  according  to  the  usual  meaning  of  the 
words  the  verse  reads,  even  to-day  is  my  complaint  rebellion,  my  hand 
is  heavy  upon  my  groaning.  The  A.  V.  has  assumed,  after  the  Vulgate, 
that  the  word  usually  meaning  "rebellion"  {mri)  is  a  form  of  the  word 
"bitter"  [mar],  or  that  the  latter  word  should  be  read.  It  has  also 
assumed  that  "my  hand"  may  mean  the  hand  (o^ God)  upon  me,  i.e. 
"my  stroke."  But  this  is  scarcely  possible;  "my  arrow,"  ch.  xxxiv.  6, 
being  no  true  parallel.  Further,  it  has  assumed  that  the  well-known 
phrase  "to  be  heavy  upon,"  e.g.  Ps.  xxxii.  4,  may  mean  "to  be  heavy 
above,"  i.e.  heavier  than  my  groaning.  This  also  is  scarcely  to  be  be- 
lieved. On  the  other  hand  it  is  difficult  to  extract  sense  from  the 
literal  rendering  given  above.  The  expression  "  my  complaint  is  rebel- 
lion "  may  be  used  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  three  friends:  even 
to-day  (still)  is  my  complaint  accounted  rebellion,  though  my  hand  lies 
heavy  upon  my  groaning,  i.e.  represses  it ;  the  meaning  being,  that  Job 
was  accounted  rebellious  by  his  friends,  v/hile  in  fact  his  complaint  and 
groaning  in  no  way  came  up  to  the  terrible  weight  of  his  calamities — 
the  same  idea  as  in  ch.  vi.  1.  Then  the  following  verses  proceed  to 
describe  the  cause  he  has  for  complaint.  Or  the  words  "  my  complaint 
is  rebellion"  may  express  Job's  own  feeling:  "  I  refuse  to  submit  to  my 
afflictions,  or  acknowledge  that  they  are  just."  In  this  case  the  next 
words:  "my  hand  lies  heavy  on  my  groaning"  must  mean  "my  hand 
presses  out  my  groaning  in  a  continual  stream."  But  this  is  an  ex- 
traordinary sense  to  put  on  the  phrase  "to  lie  heavy  upon."  Others, 
assuming  that  the  text  is  corrupt,  make  alterations  more  or  less  serious 
in  words,  as  "His  hand"  for  "  ;«_y  hand  "  in  the  second  clause.  So 
already  the  Sept. 

3 — 7.  Job  ardently  desires  that  he  could  come  to  God's  judgment- 
seat  to  plead  his  cause  before  Him ;  and  that  God  would  give  heed  to 
him  and  answer  him.  Then  assuredly  his  innocence  would  be  esta- 
blished. 

3.  his  seati    i.e.  His  judgment-seat,  or  tribunal. 


I70  JOB,   XXIII.  [vv.  4— lo. 

I  would  order  my  cause  before  him, 

And  fill  my  mouth  toith  arguments. 

I  would  know  the  words  which  he  would  answer  me, 

And  understand  what  he  would  say  unto  me. 

Will  he  plead  against  me  with  his  great  power? 

No;  but  he  would  put  siraigth  in  me. 

There  the  righteous  migJit  dispute  with  him; 

So  should  I  be  delivered  for  ever  from  my  judge. 

Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  he  is  not  there; 

And  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him : 

On  the  left  hand,  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  cannot  be- 
hold him  : 

He  hideth  himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see 
him : 

But  he  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take : 

5.  Job  would  not  only  plead  his  own  cause,  but  he  would  hear  from 
the  Almighty  what  charges  He  had  to  make  against  him;  comp.  ch.  x. 
2,  xiii.  23,  and  especially  ch.  xxxi.  35 — 37. 

6.  This  verse  runs : 

Would  he  plead  against  me  in  the  greatness  of  his  power? 

Nay,  but  he  would  give  heed  unto  me. 
The  words  express  the  thought  which  the  idea  of  appearing  before  God's 
judgment-seat  immediately  suggests  to  Job — "Do  I  mean  that  God 
should  exhibit  His  almighty  power  against  me  ?  far  from  that,  but 
that  He  would  listen  to  me."  His  wish  is  that  God  would  hear  his 
arguments  and  answer  him  as  a  human  judge  who  gives  heed  to  the 
plea  of  the  accused,  laying  aside  His  omnipotent  power  with  which  He 
now  crushes  him;  comp.  ch.  ix.  32,  xiii.  20. 

7.  This  verse,  as  rendered  in  the  A.V.,  seems  to  mean  that  in  such 
circumstances  {^ov.  3 — 6)  a  righteous  man  might  plead  his  cause  before 
God.  Rather  the  words  run  literally,  then  a  righteous  man  tcoitld  be 
pleading  loith  /liiii,  i.e.  then  it  would  appear  that  the  man  who  pleads 
with  Him  (i.e.  Job)  is  righteous.  This  sense  fits  into  the  parallelism  of 
the  second  clause. 

8—9.  From  this  fascinating  dream  of  a  Divine  tribunal  after  the 
manner  of  that  of  a  human  judge.  Job  awakens  to  realise  the  actual 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed.  God,  everywhere  present,  every- 
where eludes  him;  he  feels  His  omnipotent  power,  but  in  vain  seeks  to 
see  His  face. 

10.  The  reason  of  God's  thus  hiding  Himself  and  refusing  to  allow 
Himself  to  be  approached  is  that  He  kno\\  s  Job's  innocence,  but  is 
resolved  to  treat  him  as  guilty  and  bring  him  to  death  (z>.  13). 

But  he  knoweth  the  ^vay  that  J  take\  Rather,  for  He  knoweth,  &c.; 
lit.  the  way  that  is  with  nte,  i.e.  the  conduct  I  pursue,  and  the  thoughts  I 
cherish.     Job  refers  in  these  words  to  his  innocency  (vv.  11,  12). 


vv.  II— 16.]  JOB,  XXIII.  171 

IVken  he  hath  tried  me,  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold. 

My  foot  hath  held  his  steps,  " 

His  way  have  I  kept,  and  not  declined. 

Neither  have  I  gone  back  from  the  commandment  of  his  12 

lips; 
I  have  esteemed  the  words  of  his  mouth  more  than  my 

necessary  y^<7^/. 
But  he  is  in  one  7i!ind,  and  who  can  turn  him  ?  13 

And  Uf/iat  his  soul  desireth,  even  t/iat  he  doeth. 
For  he  performeth  the  thing  that  is  appointed  for  me:         14 
And  many  such  things  are  with  him. 

Therefore  am  I  troubled  at  his  presence :  15 

When  I  consider,  I  am  afraid  of  him. 
For  God  maketh  my  heart  soft,  16 

■when  he  hath  tried  me  I  shall]  Rather,  if  He  tried  me  I  should 
come  forth  as  gold.  God  refuses  to  permit  Job  access  to  Him,  or  to 
plead  his  cause  before  Him,  because  He  knows  his  innocence,  and  that 
if  He  tried  him  he  would  come  forth  as  pure  gold. 

11 — 12.  Fuller  particulars  given  by  Job  of  "the  way  that  is  with 
him  " — his  innocent,  upright  life. 

11.  hath  held  his  steps]  Or,  held  fast  to  His  steps,  i.e.  followed 
closely  His  footsteps;  comp.  Is.  ii.  3. 

12.  more  than  my  necessary  food]  Lit.  more  than  (or,  above)  my 
cnvn  law;  i.e.  perhaps,  more  than  the  law  of  my  own  mind  or  inclina- 
tion. The  words  recall  the  exhortation  of  Eliphaz,  ch.  xxii.  22.  Any 
reference  io  food  seems  out  of  place. 

13 — 17.  Job's  innocency  though  known  to  God  is  disregarded  by 
Him.  He  is  unchangeable  in  His  resolution,  and  He  has  resolved  to 
destroy  him. 

14.  For  he  performeth]  Or,  Yea  He  will  perform,  or,  accomplish. 
The  "thing  appointed  "  for  Job  is  his  death  through  his  malady,  which 
the  Almighty  has  resolved  upon.  This  is  the  profound  enigma  to  Job ; 
but  it  is  far  from  being  a  solitary  one:  "many  such  things  are  with 
Him  " — the  instance  is  but  one  out  of  many  similar  ones  that  happen 
under  God's  rule  of  the  world  of  mankind;  como.  ch.  xxi.  23  seq. 

15.  It  is  this  thought  of  the  moral   riddle  which  his  history  pre-  , 
sents,  and  of  the  moral  iniquity  that  characterizes  God's  government, 
that  perplexes  and  paralyses  Job. 

at  his  presence]  Or,  before  him,  i.e.  because  of  Him,  or,  at  the 
thought  of  Him;  comp.  "when  I  consider"  in  next  clause.  The 
thought  that  God  acts  in  such  a  manner  confounds  Job. 

16.  For  God  fuaketh]  Or,  and  God.  The  emphasis  is  on  God ;  it 
is  God, — the  thought  that  God  should  act  in  this  unrighteous  manner — 
that  makes  his  heart  "soft,"  i.e.  makes  him  faint-hearted  and  terror- 
stricken. 


172  JOB,  XXIII.   XXIV.  [v.  17. 

And  the  Almighty  troubleth  me: 

Because  I  was  not  cut  off  before  tlie  darkness, 

Neither  liath  he  covered  the  darkness  from  my  face. 

17.     This  verse  reads, 

For  I  am  not  dismayed  because  of  tlie  darkness, 
Nor  because  of  myself  whom  thick  darkness  covereth. 
The  words  refer  back  to  the  language  of  Eliphaz,  ch.  xxii.  ii,  "or 
seest  thou  not  the  darkness?"  The  "darkness"  is  the  fatal  calamity 
that  has  overtaken  Job,  a  frequent  use  of  the  word.  What  dismays 
Job,  or  strikes  him  dumb  with  moral  awe,  is  not  his  calamity  in  itself, 
nor  himself  (or,  his  face)  marred  and  distorted  by  disease,  but  this,  that 
it  is  God  who  has  inflicted  the  calamity  upon  him,  not  because  he  is 
guilty,  but  in  the  arbitrary  and  unjust  exercise  of  His  almighty  power. 
This  is  the  point  in  this  whole  speech,  both  in  ch.  xxiii.  and  ch.  xxiv.; 
Job  misses  any  true  moral  rule  in  the  world.  The  A.  V.  seems  to 
make  the  enigma  consist  in  this,  that  Job  was  not  removed  by  death 
before  such  afflictions  overtook  him.  But  this  would  at  best  have  sub- 
stituted one  enigma  for  another. 

Ch.  xxiv.  The  Divine  Rectitude  which  Job  misses  in  his 
own  instance  he  equally  misses  on  the  broad  field  op 
THE  World. 

The  same  thought  of  the  absence  of  any  righteous  rule  of  the  world 
is  carried  through  this  chapter  and  illustrated  by  many  examples.  Job 
turns  froui  his  own  history  and  surveys  that  of  the  people  around  him, 
and  as  his  own  instance  illustrated  the  misery  of  the  just,  the  instances 
about  him  illustrate  the  felicity,  the  long-continued  power,  the  freedom 
from  visitation  by  God,  and  the  natural  death  of  the  wicked.  Thus 
both  sides  of  his  thesis  are  supported,  that  God's  rule  of  the  world  is  not 
retributive,  and  that  the  pri<nciples  insisted  on  by  his  friends  find  no 
justihcation  in  the  world  as  it  is. 

Job  begins  by  asking,  Why  are  not  times  (of  assize)  appointed  by  the 
Almighty?  and,  Why  do  they  that  know  Him  not  see  His  days  (of 
judgment)?  This  is  Job's  complaint,  that  God  the  judge  and  ruler  of 
the  world  fails  to  judge  and  rule  it  in  righteousness.  Men  do  not 
behold  Him  appointing  times  and  holding  days  for  doing  judgment  on 
wrong,  and  righting  the  oppressed.  On  the  contrary,  the  powerful 
tyrants  ojipress  and  the  miserable  poor  are  oppressed  \vv.  3 — 11),  and 
God  regards  not  the  wrong  (^v.  12). 

Besides  these  public  wrongdoers,  there  are  other  transgressors  who 
shun  the  light.  The  murderer,  the  adulterer,  and  the  robber  ply  their 
unhallowed  trade  in  the  darkness  {vv.  13 — 17).  And  all  of  them, 
instead  of  being  visited  by  God  with  sudden  judgments,  as  the  Friends 
insisted  and  as  the  popular  literature  described  [w.  18 — 21),  are  upheld 
in  power  by  God,  made  to  dwell  in  safety,  and  at  last  brought  in  peace 
to  a  natural  death  "  like  all  others  "  {vv.  22 — 24). 


vv.  1-4-] JOB,   XXIV.  173 

Why,  seeing  times  are  not  hidden  from  the  Almighty,  24 

Do  they  that  know  him  not  see  his  days? 

Some  remove  the  landmarks;  a 

They  violently  take  away  flocks,  and  feed  thereof. 

They  drive  away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless,  3 

They  take  the  widow's  ox  for  a  pledge. 

They  turn  the  needy  out  of  the  way ;  4 

The  poor  of  the  earth  hide  themselves  together. 

Finally  Job,  too  sure  of  his  facts,  exclaims,  W[\o  will  make  me  a 
liar  ?     Who  will  disprove  the  things  now  advanced  ?  {v.  25). 

1.     This  verse  reads, 

Why  are  not  times  appointed  by  the  Almighty  ? 
And  why  do  they  that  know  him  not  see  his  days  ? 

By  "times"  and  "days"  Job  means  diets  of  assize  for  sitting  in 
judgment  and  dispensing  right  among  men.  The  speaker  complains 
that  such  times  and  days  are  not  appointed  by  the  ruler  and  judge  of 
the  world;  He  fails  to  exercise  a  righteous  rule;  they  that  know  Him 
(the  godly)  and  look  for  the  manifestation  of  His  righteousness  are  dis- 
appointed. The  A.  V.  -why,  sccuig  times  are  not  hidden,  &c.,  appears 
to  mean,  Why,  seeing  God  has  appointed  judgment-days  known  to 
Himself,  are  the  godly  not  permitted  to  perceive  them  ?  The  complaint 
in  this  case  does  not  touch  tlie  Divine  rectitude  itself,  but  only  laments 
that  it  does  not  manifest  itself  to  men.  But  the  distinction  is  one  not 
drawn  by  Job.  When  he  complains  that  God  does  not  make  visible 
His  righteous  rule,  his  meaning  is  that  God  does  not  exercise  such  a 
rule.  This  is  the  thought  about  God  that  alarms  him,  and  makes  his 
heart  soft  (ch.  xxiii.  16]. 

2 — 4.  Job  now  proceeds  to  illustrate  his  complaint  of  the  absence  of 
righteousness  in  God's  rule  of  the  world.  The  instances  are  in  the  first 
place  general. 

2.  So?iie  remove]  Or,  there  are  who  remove.  In  the  absence  of 
hedgerows  or  walls,  the  landmark  defined  the  boundary  of  a  man's  field 
or  estate.  Its  removal  was  equivalent  to  violent  appropriation  of  the 
property  of  another;  see  Deut.  xix.  14;   Hos.  v.  10. 

and  feed  thereof]  Rather,  and  feed  them.  They  are  open  and 
defiant  in  their  violent  wrong,  they  seize  a  flock  and  publicly  graze  it  as 
their  own. 

3.  By  "the  ass"  and  "the  ox  "is  meant  the  single  ass  and  ox 
which  the  fatherless  and  widow  possess,  needful  for  working  their  small 
field  or  affording  them  scanty  nourishment.  When  deprived  of  these 
they  are  brought  to  complete  destitution,  and  removed  from  the  land. 

4.  ''Turning  the  needy  out  of  the  way"  is  a  general  expression  for 
doing  them  wrong,  hindering  them  of  their  just  rights;  comp.  Am.  v. 
12.  The  last  clause  "the  poor  hide  themselves  together"  seems  to 
sum  up  the  general  effect  of  the  preceding  wrongs.  The  poor,  violently 
dispossessed  of  what  belonged  to  them,  or  stripped  through  forms  of  law 


174  JOB,   XXIV.  [vv.  5—8. 

Behold,  as  wild  asses  in  the  desert, 

Go  they  forth  to  their  work;  rising  betimes  for  a  prey: 

The   wilderness  yicldeth    food   for   them    and    for   their 

children. 
They  reap  every  one  his  corn  in  the  field: 
And  they  gather  the  vintage  of  the  wicked. 
They  cause  the  naked  to  lodge  without  clothing, 
That  they  have  no  covering  in  the  cold. 
They  are  wet  with  the  showers  of  the  mountains, 

little  different  from  violence  ("for  a  pledge,"  z'.  3),  and  deprived  of 
their  fields,  are  forced  to  hide  themselves  away  from  men,  among 
whom  they  had  formerly  lived  in  respect,  and  huddle  together  in 
obscure  haunts. 

5 — 8.  Job  now  directs  his  attention  to  a  particular  class  of  outcasts, 
giving  a  pathetic  description  of  their  (light  from  the  abodes  of  men  and 
their  herding  together  like  wild  asses  in  the  wilderness  ;  their  destitution, 
and  the  miseries  they  endure  from  cold  and  want,  having  only  the  rocks 
and  caves  to  cover  them,  and  only  the  roots  and  garbage  of  the  desert 
to  sustain  them.  The  class  of  miserables  here  referred  to  are,  no  doubt, 
as  Ewald  first  pointed  out,  the  aboriginal  races  of  the  regions  east  of  the 
Jordan,  whose  land  and  homes  had  been  seized  by  more  powerful 
tribes,  and  who  had  fled  from  the  bitter  oppressions  to  which  they  were 
subjected  by  their  conquerors.  Another  detailed  reference  is  made  to 
them  in  ch.  xxx. 

5.  The  comparison  to  wild  asses  expresses  their  herding  together, 
their  flight  far  from  the  dwellings  of  men,  and  that  they  find  their  home 
and  sustenance  in  the  wilderness. 

go  forth  to  their  work  ;  rising  betimes  for  a  frcy]  Rather,  they  go 
forth  to  their  work,  seeking  diligently  for  food.  Their  "work"  is 
explained  by  "seeking  for  food." 

for  them  and  for  their  childreti]  Rather,  food  unto  them  for  their 
children.  The  roots  and  herbage  of  the  desert  are  tlie  only  nourishment 
they  can  find  for  their  children ;  comp.  ch.  xxx.  3 — 4. 

6.  The  verse  reads, 

They  reap  their  fodder  in  the  field. 
And  glean  the  vineyard  of  the  wicked. 

The  coarse  food  which  they  can  possess  themselves  of  is  called  by 
the  poet  "their  fodder"  ;  it  is  scarcely  grain  ;  and  for  fruit  they  have  only 
the  forgotten  or  neglected  late  gleanings  of  the  vineyard  of  the  wicked. 
The  term  "wicked"  seems  to  mean  here  the  ricli,  inhumane  lords  of  the 
soil;  comp.  the  converse  use  of  "  rich  "  for  "  wicked,"  Is.  liii.  9. 

7.  The  verse  means, 

They  lie  all  night  naked,  without  clothing. 
They  have  no  covering  in  the  cold. 

8.  The  mountain  rains,  more  violent  than  even  those  in  the  plain. 


vv.  9— 12.]  JOB,  XXIV. 175 

And  embrace  the  rock  for  want  of  a  shelter. 

They  pluck  the  fatherless  from  the  breast,  9 

And  take  a  pledge  of  the  poor. 

They  cause  him  to  go  naked  without  clothing,  i 

And  they  take  away  the  sheaf //-(?;//  the  hungry; 

Which  make  oil  within  their  walls,  i 

And  tread  their  winepresses,  and  suffer  thirst. 

Men  groan  from  out  of  the  city,  » 

And  the  soul  of  the  wounded  crieth  out : 

Yet  God  layeth  not  folly  to  them. 

drench  these  thinly-clad  outcasts;  and  they  "embrace  the  rock,"  i.e. 
huddle  in  closely  under  its  ledge. 

9 — 12.  These  verses  describe  the  miseries  of  another  class,  those  who 
have  allowed  themselves  to  be  subjected,  ajid  become  serfs  and  bond- 
men attached  to  the  estates  of  the  rich.  Probably  they  are  but  a 
portion  of  the  same  aboriginal  tribes  mentioned  in  vv.  5 — 7. 

9.  They  pluck]  Or,  there  are  who  pluck.  The  reference  is  to  the 
ruling  class  who,  for  some  debt  perhaps  of  the  dependent,  seize  the 
infant  of  the  debtor,  in  order  by  selling  it  or  bringing  it  up  as  a  slave  to 
repay  themselves. 

take  a  pledge  of  the  poor']  The  words  might  mean  "  take  in  pledge  that 
which  is  on  the  poor,"  i.e.  their  scanty  clothing.  Others  refer  the  words 
to  the  preceding  inhuman  act  of  plucking  the  child  from  the  breast  and 
render:  "and  take  this  pledge  of  the  poor"  (Ew.). 

10.  The  verse  carries  on  the  idea  expressed  by  "  the  poor  "  (v.  9) — 
the  poor 

Which  go  naked  without  clothing; 
And  hungry  they  carry  sheaves. 
The   point  lies   in  the  antithesis  between    "hungry"   and    "carry 
sheaves " ;    though   labouring   amidst   the    abundant    harvest   of  their 
masters  they  are  faint  with  hunger  themselves. 

11.  A  similar  contrast  between  "  tread  the  winepresses  "  and  "  suffer 
thirst."  The  expression  "  within  their  walls  "  refers  to  the  walled,  well- 
protected  vineyards  of  the  rich  nobility,  within  which  these  miserable 
serfs  tread  out  abundant  wine  all  the  while  that  they  themselves  pant 
with  thirst. 

12.  Men  groan  from  out  of  the  city]  Rather,  according  to  the  point- 
ir\g,  from  out  of  the  populous  city  they  groan.  In  this,  however,  there  is 
no  parallelism  to  the  "soul  of  the  wounded"  in  next  clause.  By  a  slight 
change  of  pointing,  and  as  read  by  the  Syriac,  the  sense  is  obtained : 
from  out  the  city  the  dying  groan.  The  phrase  "  from  out "  means 
merely  "in  connexion  with"  or  in  the  cities,  comp.  Ps.  Ixxii.  16. 
Reference  is  made  to  the  cities  in  order  to  indicate  that  this  injustice 
and  cruel  oppression  suffered  by  men  is  universal,  in  city  and  country 
alike. 

layeth  not  folly  to  them\  Rather,  regardeth  not  the  folly,  or,  wrong. 


1/6  JOB,   XXIV.  \\-y.  13— I". 

They  are  of  those  that  rebel  against  the  hght; 
They  know  not  the  ways  thereof, 
Nor  abide  in  the  paths  thereof. 
The  murderer  rising  with  the  light 
Killeth  the  poor  and  needy, 
And  in  the  night  is  as  a  thief. 

The  eye  also  of  the  adulterer  waiteth  for  the  twilight, 
Saying,  No  eye  shall  see  me: 
And  disguiseth  /it's  face. 
In  the  dark  f/iey  dig  through  houses, 
Which  they  had  marked  for  themselves  in  the  daytime: 
They  know  not  the  light. 

For  the  morning  is  to  them  even  as  the  shadow  of  death : 
If  otie  know  thein^  they  are  in  the  terrors  of  the  shadow  of 
death. 

The  same  word  occurred  in  cli.  i.  22,  see  note.  All  this  oppression  is 
manifest  on  the  face  of  the  earth  among  men,  but  God  givelh  no  heed 
to  the  wrong — He  appointeth  no  days  (v.  i)  for  doing  judgment  and 
staying  the  injustice. 

13 — 17.  The  outrages  perpetrated  by  a  different  class  of  wrong- 
doers, the  murderer  [v.  14),  the  adulterer  (v.  15),  and  the  robber  {v.  16). 
Those  described  in  former  verses  pursued  their  violent  course  openly, 
they  had  law  or  at  least  custom  on  their  side,  and  their  cruelties  did  no 
more  than  illustrate  the  rights  of  property;  those  now  mentioned  are 
"rebels  against  the  light"  and  operate  under  cover  of  the  darkness. 

13.  They  are  of  those]  Rather,  tliese  are  of  them  that  rebel.  The 
speaker  introduces  a  new  class  of  malefactors.  The  "  light  "  here  is  of 
course  the  light  of  day,  with  the  implication,  however,  that  he  that 
is  righteous  "cometh  to  the  light." 

14.  luitk  the  lighf]  i.e.  toward  day-break,  while  it  is  still  partially 
dark.     At  such  an  hour  the  murderer  waylays  the  solitary  traveller. 

is  as  a  tJiicf\  i.e.  acts  the  thief,  becomes  a  thief. 

15.  The  adulterer  waits  for  the  "  twilight,"  i.e.  of  even.  Then  he 
disguises  himself,  or  puts  a  cover  on  his  face,  that  he  may  enter  unde- 
tected the  house  of  his  neighbour. 

16.  ivhich  Ihcy  had  marked]  Rather,  they  shut  (lit.  seal)  themselves 
up  in  the  daytime.  In  the  dark  the  housebreaker  digs  through  the 
wall,  which  in  many  Eastern  houses  is  of  clay  or  soft  brick;  in  the  day- 
time he  abides  close  in  his  own  retreat;  he  is  unacquainted  with 
the  light. 

17.  This  verse  expands  the  last  clause  oi  v.  16  : — 
For  the  morning  is  to  them  as  the  shadow  of  death. 
For  they  know  the  terrors  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

The  "shadow  of  death  "  is  equivalent  almost  to   "midnight;"  see 


V.  i8.]  JOB,  XXIV.  177 

He  is  swift  as  the  waters;  j 

Their  portion  is  cursed  in  the  earth : 

He  beholdeth  not  the  way  of  the  vineyards. 

note  ch.  iii.    5.     These  malefactors  know  not  the  light   (v.  16),   the 
morning  seems  to  them  midnight,  so  much  do  they  fear  and  shun  it ; 
but  they  know,  they  are  familiar  with,  the  terrors  of  midnight,  for  this 
is  their  day.     Others  make  "  morning  "  predicate,  for  midnight  is  to 
them  (like)  the  morning.     This,  however,  does  not  connect  so  closely 
with  V.    16.     "Shakespeare  has  the   same  thought — as  indeed   what 
thought  has  he  not? — and  tells  us  that  'when   the  searching  eye  of 
heaven,  that  lights  this  lower  world,  is  hid  behind  the  globe,' 
'  Then  thieves  and  robbers  range  abroad  unseen, 
In  murders  and  in  outrage... 
But  when  from  under  this  terrestrial  ball 
He  fires  the  proud  tops  of  the  eastern  pines, 
And  darts  his  light  through  every  guilty  hole, 
Then  murders,  treason,  and  detested  sins, 
The  cloak  of  night  being  plucked  from  off  their  backs, 
Stand  bare  and  naked,  trembling  at  themselves.'  " 
(Cox,  Commentary  on  Job,  p.  317.) 

18 — 24.  This  detailed  and  graphic  picture  of  the  enormities  of 
wicked  men  (vv.  2 — 17)  suggests  the  question,  What  then  is  the  fate  of 
such  men  ?  Are  they  seized  by  the  sudden  judgments  of  God  and 
delivered  into  the  hand  of  their  own  transgression  (ch.  viii.  4)?  or,  are 
they  prolonged  in  the  possession  of  their  power,  protected  in  their 
wickedness,  and  brought  to  a  natural  and  peaceful  end  at  last  like  men 
in  general  ?  The  following  passage  gives  both  answers,  one  in  vv. 
18 — 21,  and  the  other  in  vv.  22 — 24.  The  former  answer  is  that  of 
Job's  friends,  and  perhaps  of  the  common  mind,  a  passage  or  fragments 
"from  a  poetical  expression  of  whose  creed  Job  seems  to  cite.  This 
answer  is  only  introduced  ironically  and  in  order  to  supply  the  back- 
ground to  the  true  picture  which  Job  himself  draws  of  the  history  of 
these  violent  and  wicked  m.en.  And  this  picture  is  a  very  different  one. 
18 — 21.  The  popular  creed  regarding  the  fate  of  the  wicked  in  God's 
government  of  the  world. 

18.  He  is  swift  as  the  ivaters'\  Rather,  he  is  swift  upon  the  face  of 
the  waters.  The  person  spoken  of  is  the  wicked  man,  especially  such 
a  tyrannical,  proud  oppressor  as  is  alluded  to  in  vv.  2 — 4  ;  and  what  is 
said  of  him  is,  that  he  is  like  a  waif  or  spray  on  the  surface  of  the 
water,  swept  rapidly  away,  and  disappearing  in  a  moment  from 
the  eyes  of  men  in  destruction;  comp.  ch.  xx.  28,  IIos-  x.  7,  "As  for 
Samaria,  her  king  is  cut  off  like  foam  (or,  a  twig)  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters." 

their portion\  i.e.  their  fields  and  possessions.  A  curse  is  pronounced 
over  the  estates  of  such  men  by  those  who  behold  their  downfall ;  comp. 
ch.  V.  3. 

he  beholdeth  not]    Or,  he  tiirneth  not  unto  the  -ivay  of  the  vineyards— 

JOB  12 


178  JOB,   XXIV.  [vv.  19—21. 

Drought  and  heat  consume  the  snow  waters : 

^S"^  doih  the  grave  those  which  have  sinned. 

The  womb  shall  forget  him;   the  worm  shall  feed  sweetly 

on  liim; 
He  shall  be  no  more  remembered; 
And  wickedness  shall  be  broken  as  a  tree. 
He  evil  entreateth  the  barren  that  beareth  not : 
And  doeth  not  good  to  the  widow. 

he  shall  no  more  return  unto  the  smiling  vineyards  in  which  he  de- 
lighted. The  joys  of  his  luxurious  life  shall  no  more  be  his,  misery  and 
destruction  have  overtaken  him.  The  general  meaning  of  the  phrase  is 
the  converse  of  that  expressed  by  "sitting  under  his  vine  and  figtree," 
I  Kings  iv.  25;  Mic.  iv.  4. 

19.  As  the  fierce  heat  and  drought  evaporate  the  abundant  waters  of 
the  dissolving  winter  snow,  leaving  no  trace  of  them,  so  doth  Sheol 
engulf  the  sinners,  that  they  disappear  without  a  remnant  from  the 
world;  comp.  ch.  vi.  15  seq.,  xiv.  n  ;  Is.  v.  14. 

20.  Even  she  whose  womb  bore  the  sinner  shall  forget  him ;  none 
shall  find  pleasure  in  him  but  the  worm,  to  whose  taste  he  shall  be 
sweet. 

21.  This  verse  is  closely  connected  with  the  last  clause  of  the  pre- 
ceding. 

And  wickedness  shall  be  broken  like  a  tree — 
Even  he  that  devoureth  the  barren  that  beareth  not, 
And  doeth  not  good  unto  the  widow. 
The  "tree"  is  a  frequent  object  of  comparison,  e.g.  ch.  xix.  to,  "re- 
moved or  plucked  up  like  a  tree,"  here  "  broken  "  like  a  tree.     The 
"barren  that  beareth  not"  is  she  that  is  lonely,  having  no  sons  to  up- 
hold her  right,  Ps.  cxxvii.  3,  cf.  Is.  li.  iS.     Pleading  for,  or  upholding 
the  cause  of  the  widow  is  often  enjoined,  as  in  Is.  i.  17,  and  the  Lord 
Himself  is  said  to  be  her  "judge,"  Ps.  Ixviii.  5. 

The  broad  and  somewhat  exaggerated  colours  of  the  preceding  picture 
{w.  18 — 21)  indicate  that  it  is  either  actually  in  ]iart  the  work  of  a 
popular  hand,  or  that  it  is  a  parody  after  the  popular  manner  by  Job 
himself 

22 — 24.  The  other  picture  drawn  by  Job's  own  hand  to  exhibit  the 
actual  truth.  Such  {w.  18 — 21),  according  to  the  popular  imagination, 
is  the  fate  and  history  of  the  wicked;  the  following  (z/z/.  22 — 24)  is 
their  history  according  to  facts  : 

22.  Nay,  he  continueth  the  mighty  by  his  power, 

They  rise  up,  though  they  believed  not  that  they  should  live. 

23.  He  giveth  them  to  be  in  safety,  and  they  are  upheld. 
And  his  eyes  are  upon  their  ways. 

24.  They  are  exalted:  in  a  moment  they  are  not; 

They  are  brought  low,  and  gathered  in  as  all  others. 
And  are  cut  off  as  the  tops  of  the  ears  of  corn. 


vv.  22—25.]  JOB,  XXIV.  179 

He  draweth  also  the  mighty  with  his  power:  22 

He  riseth  up,  and  no  )/ia>i  is  sure  of  \[(c. 

Though  it  be  given  him  to  be  in  safety,  whereon  he  resteth;  23 

Yet  his  eyes  are  upon  their  ways. 

They  are  exalted  for  a  little  while,  but  are  gone  24 

And  brought  low,  they  are  taken  out  of  the  way  as  all 

other, 
And  cut  off  as  the  tops  of  the  ears  of  corn. 
And  if  //  be  not  so  now,  who  will  make  me  a  liar,  25 

And  make  my  speech  nothing  worth  ? 

22.  Jie  draweth  also  the  mighty\  Rather  as  above,  lie  continueth 
the  mighty,  i.e.  He  (God)  prolongeth  their  life  and  continueth  them  in 
their  place.  The  "mighty"  are  the  oppressive  lords  of  the  soil,  z/.  2 
scq.     And  it  is  God  that  upholds  them  by  His  power ;  comp.  ch.  ix.  24. 

he  riseth  tip,  and  710  man  is  sure  of  life]  Rather  as  above.  Even 
when  they  fall  under  calamity  or  sickness  and  "  believe  not  that  they 
shall  live,"  i.e.  despair  of  recovery  or  of  regaining  their  former  pros- 
perity, they  are  raised  up  again,  their  life  and  power  being  prolonged. 

23.  though  it  be  given]  Rather,  he  giveth  them  to  be  in  safety. 
God  makes  the  tents  of  the  violent  men  to  be  secure,  ch.  xii.  6;  He 
watches  over  them.  His  eyes  being  upon  their  ways;  comp.  ch.  x.  3, 
"He  shines  upon  the  counsel  of  the  wicked." 

24.  To  be  translated  as  above.  The  wicked  are  exalted,  rise  high 
in  life,  and  suddenly,  with  no  pain,  they  die;  comp.  ch.  xxi.  i3._Ps. 
Ixxiii.  4.  And  when  they  are  brought  low  at  last  in  death,  it  is  a 
natural  death  that  overtakes  them,  like  that  of  all  others,— men  in 
general ;  and  they  are  cut  off  (or,  wither)  like  the  tops  of  the  ears  of 
corn,  not  prematurely,  but  having  attained  to  full  ripeness ;  comp. 
V,  26. 

25.  Job  alas  !  is  only  too  sure  of  his  facts,  and  conscious  that  he 
has  history  and  experience  at  his  back  he  victoriously  exclaims,  Who 
will  make  me  a  liar  ? 

Job  has  gained  his  victory  over  his  friends,  but  he  has  received,  or 
rather  inflicted  on  himself,  an  almost  mortal  wound  in  achieving  it. 
He  has  shewn  that  God's  rule  of  the  world  is  not  just,  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  friends  insisted  that  it  was  just,  and  in  the  sense  in  which  his 
own  moral  feeling  demanded  that  it  should  be  just.  God  is  not  right- 
eous, in  the  sense  that  he  punishes  wickedness  with  outward  calamity 
and  rewards  the  righteous  with  outward  good.  So  far  the  three  friends 
are  defeated,  and  with  their  defeat  on  the  general  question  their  in- 
ferences from  Job's  calamities  as  to  his  guilt  fall  to  the  ground.  To 
this  extent  Job  has  gained  a  victory.  But  his  victory,  if  it  secures  the 
possibility  of  his  own  innocence,  leaves  to  his  mind  a  God  whom  he 
believes  to  be  unrighteous.  For  his  view  of  what  could  be  called 
"righteousness"  in  the  Ruler  of  the  world  coincides  entirely  with  the 
view  of  his  friends. 


iSo  JOB,  XXV.  [vv.  1—3. 

25  Then  answered  Bildad  the  Shuhitc,  and  said, 

2  Dominion  and  fear  arc  with  him, 
He  maketh  peace  in  his  high  places. 

3  Is  there  any  number  of  his  armies? 


Ch.  XXV.    Bildad's  third  speech. 

How  SHOULD   Man,   who   is  a  Worm,   be   pure  before  the 
Omnipotent  Ruler  of  the  Universe? 

Bildad  perhaps  feels  himself  unable  to  reply  to  the  facts  of  expe- 
rience adduced  by  his  opponent,  and  he  will  not  continue  the  dispute. 
Yet  he  will  not  retire  without  at  least  uttering  a  protest  against  the 
spirit  of  his  adversary  and  in  behalf  of  reverential  thought  concerning 
God.  Let  the  facts  of  history  brought  forward  by  Job  be  as  they  may, 
the  spirit  in  which  they  are  brought  forward,  and  the  conclusions  in 
regard  to  God  founded  on  them,  must  be  for  ever  false. 

Bildad  does  not  appear  to  touch  Job's  argument  as  to  God's  rule  of 
the  world.  He  only  seeks  to  subdue  the  immeasurable  arrogance  of 
Job  in  thinking  that  he  would  be  found  guiltless  if  placed  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  God  (ch.  xxiii.  3 — 7),  and  in  challenging  the  rectitude 
of  God's  rule  of  the  world.  With  this  view  he  contrasts  the  exalted 
Majesty  of  God  and  His  universal  power,  which  the  countless  hosts  on 
hi"h  obey,  and  the  purity  of  God  in  whose  eyes  the  moon  is  dark  and 
the  stars  are  not  pure,  with  the  littleness  and  the  earthly  nature  of 
man — who  is  a  worm. 

These  thoughts  had  already  been  expressed  by  other  speakers  in  the 
controversy,  as  by  Eliphaz,  ch.  iv.  17  scq.,  and  ch.  xv.  14  seq.,  and  the 
brief  and  simple  repetition  of  them  by  Bildad  indicates  that  the  contro- 
versy has  exhausted  itself. 

2.  dominion  and  fear]  To  God  belongs  rule,  and  His  majesty 
inspires  terror;  He  is  the  Omnipotent  ruler  over  all. 

his  high  places']  i.e.  the  heavens  where  He  dwells.  There  He 
"maketh  peace"  through  the  dominion  and  fear  belonging  to  Him. 
The  idea  of  "making  peace  in  his  high  places  "  is  suggested  first  per- 
haps by  the  atmospheric  phenomenon,  the  stilling  of  the  warring  ele- 
ments in  the  tempest  on  high.  When  God  intervenes  the  storm  becomes 
a  calm.  But  probably  the  idea  was  extended,  and  the  words  may 
include  a  reference  to  traditional  discords  among  the  heavenly  hosts, 
comp.  ch.  xxi.  22,  xl.  10  seq.;  Is.  xxiv.  11;  Rev.  xii.  7.  .  .      „ 

3.  his  armies']  The  words  still  amplify  the  idea  of  the  "  dominion 
and  omnipotence  of  God.  The  armies  that  obey  Him  are  innumerable. 
The  reference  is  probably  to  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens  by  night ; 
comp.  Is.  xl.  26,  "  He  bringcth  out  their  host  by  number,  he  calleth 
them  all  by  their  names;  by  the  greatness  of  his  might,  for  that  he  is 
strong  in  power,  not  one  faileth."  There  was  a  tendency  in  Oriental 
thought  to  identify  the  angels  with  the  stars,  or  at  least  to  regard  the 
stars  as  animated. 


vv.  4—6.]  JOB,   XXV.  i8i 

And  upon  whom  doth  not  his  Hght  arise  ? 

How  then  can  man  be  justified  with  God? 

Or  how  can  he  be  clean  that  is  born  of  a  woman  ? 

Behold  even  to  the  moon,  and  it  shineth  not; 

Yea,  the  stars  are  not  pure  in  his  sight. 

How  much  less  man,  that  is  a  worm  ? 

And  the  son  of  man,  which  is  a  worm  ? 

his  light  arise\  The  reference  is  probably  to  the  heavens  or  world  by 
day;  and  the  words  express  the  pervading  universality  of  God's  in- 
fluence and  rule.  The  sun  as  a  body  is  not  directly  alluded  to,  for  the 
word  "arise"  is  not  that  which  ordinarily  expresses  rising  or  coming 
above  the  horizon;  the  meaning  is  rather  "on  whom  doth  not  his  light 
shine?"  By  "his  light  "  is  not  meant  the  nature  of  God  as  essential 
light ;  the  meaning  rather  is  that  by  His  light  which  He  sends  forth  God 
reaches  all  (Ps.  xix.  6)  and  brings  all  under  His  sway,  though  there 
may  be  in  "  his  light "  a  reference  to  the  light  of  day  as  symbolizing 
what  He  is.  It  is  out  of  the  question  to  limit  the  words  "upon  whom" 
to  the  "armies"  of  the  first  clause,  making  the  query  of  Bildad  to 
mean.  Which  of  the  bright  heavenly  hosts  does  not  His  light  outshine? 
or,  Which  of  them  does  not  shine  with  a  light  which  falls  on  it  from 
Him  and  reflect  not  its  own  but  His  light?  The  reference  in  the 
words  "on  whom"  is  not  limited  to  the  heavenly  host,  but  is  uni- 
versal. 

4 — 5.  Such  is  the  Majesty  and  the  universal  power  of  God.  How 
then  should  a  man  be  righteous  before  Him  ? 

be  justified  with  God]  i.e.  be  just  or  righteous  before  God;  comp. 
iv.  t7  seq.,  xiv.  i,  xv.  14. 

5.  The  thought  of  v.  4  amplified.  Even  the  moon,  the  brightest 
star,  does  not  shine,  is  dark,  when  He  looks  upon  it,  and  the  stars  are 
not  pure,  how  much  less  man,  which  is  a  worm?  The  contrast  drawn 
by  Eliphaz  between  man  and  the  angels  is  drawn  here  between  man 
and  the  heavenly  bodies;  comp.  ch.  xv.  15.  The  Hebrew  has  two 
words  for  "  worm  "  here,  the  one  the  worm  of  decay  and  corruption 
(ch.  vii.  5,  xvii.  14,  xxi.  26,  xxiv.  20;  Ex.  xvi.  24;  Is.  xiv.  11),  the 
other  in  the  second  clause,  used  to  express  the  utmost  abasement  and 
abjectness,  "Fear  not  thou  worm  Jacob,"  Is.  xli.  14,  "But  I  am 
a  worm  and  no  man,"  Ps.  xxii.  6,  though  occasionally  occurring  also  in 
the  sense  of  the  other  word.  We  have  only  one  word  in  English,  for 
though  Shakespeare  speaks  of  "Grubs  and  eyeless  skulls,"  such  a  term 
can  hardly  be  used  now  in  language  of  any  elevation. 

Ch.  XXVI.    Job  rivals  Bildad  in  magnifying  the 

GREATNESS   OF   GOD. 

Bildad  in  his  short  speech  magnified  the  greatness  of  God,  and  His 
purity,  before  which  even  the  heavens  are  not  clean.  Job  had  heard 
all  this  before,  it  did  not  touch  the  enigma  of  his  life  and  of  providence. 


1 82  JOB,   XXVI.  [vv.  1—4. 

26  But  Job  answered  and  said, 

2  How  hast  thou  helped  Jiim  that  is  without  power  ? 
How  savest  thou  the  arm  that  hath  no  strength  ? 

3  How  hast  thou  counselled  him  that  hat  11  no  wisdom  ? 
And  how  hast  thou  plentifully  declared  the  thing  as  it  is  ? 

4  To  whom  hast  thou  uttered  words  ? 

Hence,  first,  he  pours  out  the  full  vials  of  his  sarcasm  on  Bildad's 
irrelevant  statements,  ch.  xxvi.  2—4.  He  knows  God's  greatness  not 
less  than  Bildad,  if  knowledge  of  it  only  helped  him  in  any  way  or 
had  any  bearing  on  the  dispute,  which  was  not  concerning  the  Great- 
ness of  God,  but  concerning  His  Justice. 

And  second,  to  shew  that  he  does  not  need  to  be  taught  concernmg 
God's  greatness,  he  proceeds  to  give  a  far  more  brilliant  picture  of  it 
than  Bildad  had  attempted,  shewin;^-  how  it  manifests  itself, 

(i)  in  the  underworld  of  the  Shades,  w.  5 — 6; 

(2)  in  the  world  above,  the  earth  and  heavens,  w.  7 — 13;  ending 
with  the  sublime  thought  that,  mighty  and  majestic  as  the  operations  of 
God  are  which  are  seen  in  these  parts  of  the  universe,  they  are  but  the 
fringes  or  outskirts  of  His  ways,  only  a  whisper  in  comparison  to  the 
fulfthunder  of  His  power. 

2—4.  Job  sarcastically  expresses  his  admiration  of  Bildad  s  speech, 
and  gratitude  for  the  help  it  has  been  to  him. 

2.  tioiv  savest  thou  .?]  Rather,  how  hast  thou  saved?  i.e.  succoured. 

3.  picntifiillv  declared  the  thing  as  it  is\  Rather,  plentifuUy,  or, 
abundantly,  declared  knowledge,  or,  wisdom.  The  word  is  that  whiclr 
occurs  in  ch.  v.  12;  sec  notes.  "Him  that  is  without  power,"  "that 
hath  no  wisdom"  &c.,  is  of  course  Job  himself;  and  he  expresses  his 
admiration  of  the  contribution  made  by  Bildad  to  the  clearing  up  of  his 
perplexities  and  the  solution  of  the  riddle  of  his  life.  It  is  not  quite 
clear  whether  Job  means  to  say  :  "1  am  \\eak  and  unnerved,  perplexed 
and  ignorant,  and  how  mightily  in  all  this  thou  hast  helped  me!"  or, 
•whether  he  is  not  thinking  with  Bildad's  mind  and  giving  bitter  ex- 
pression to  the  thoughts  which  that  speaker  doubtless  entertained  of 
his  own  performance,  and  of  the  effect  it  should  have  on  the  person 
whom  he  addressed:  "Doubtless  thou  hast  abundantly  instructed  and 
strengthened  the  weak  and  ignorant  man  before  thee  !"_  The  former 
sense  is  the  more  natural,  the  other  fits  better  into  connexion  with  v.  4. 

4.  to  whom  hast  thou  uttered  ttjords?]  Job  refers  to  himself  and  asks, 
Who  is  it  that  thou  hast  spoken  such  things  to  ?  The  same  feeling  of 
conscious  superiority  to  his  friends  and  disdain  of  the  instructions  they 
were  giving  him  reappears  here,  which  came  out  already  in  ch.  xii.  4. 
It  is  the  same  feeling  as  was  expressed  by  the  magnates  of  Jerusalem  in 
reference  to  the  continual  harping  of  Isaiah:  "Whom  will  he  teach 
knowledge,  and  whom  will  he  make  to  understand  doctrine?  them  that 
are  weant-d  from  the  milk  and  drawn  from  the  breast?"  Has  he  chil- 
dren before  him  that  he  gives  precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line,  &c.? 
Is.  xxviii.  [). 


vv.  5—7.]  JOB,  XXVI.  183 

And  whose  spirit  came  from  thee  ? 

Dead  things  are  formed  ; 

From  under  the  waters,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof. 

Hell  is  naked  before  him,  < 

And  destruction  hath  no  covering. 

He  stretcheth  out  the  north  over  the  empty  place,  : 

and  whose  spirit  came  from  thee  ?]  Or,  came  forth  from  thee.  Job 
asks,  Under  what  lofty  inspiration  hast  thou  spoken  ?  Is  it,  indeed, 
the  very  spirit  of  God  that  has  found  expression  through  thy  mouth? 
The  words  carry  a  sarcastic  reference  to  the  poverty  of  Bildad's  speech, 
possibly  also  to  the  oracular  air  with  which  it  was  uttered. 

5 — 13.  That  Job  has  no  need  to  be  instructed  regarding  the  great- 
ness of  God  he  now  shews,  by  entering  upon  an  exhibition  of  its 
operations  in  every  sphere  of  that  which  exists,  Hades,  the  Earth  and 
Heaven,  in  which  he  far  outstrips  the  feeble  effort  of  Bildad. 

6,  6.  God's  presence  and  power  in  the  underworld.  Verse  5  reads 
according  to  the  pointing, 

The  Shades  tremble 

Underneath  the  waters  and  their  inhabitants. 
The  "Shades"  (Heb.  Refdim,  the  flaccid)  are  the  departed  persons, 
whose  place  of  concourse  is  Sheol.  Comp.  Is.  xiv.  9,  where  "the 
dead"  are  the  shades,  so  Is.  xxvi.  14  (the  deceased).  This  abode  of 
deceased  persons  lies  deep  down  under  the  waters  of  the  sea  and  all 
the  inhabitants  of  these  waters,  for  the  sea  belongs  to  the  upper  world. 
Yet  the  power  of  God  is  felt  even  at  this  immeasurable  distance  from 
His  abode  on  high.  Bildad  had  referred  to  the  power  of  God  as 
"making  peace"  on  high;  Job  points  to  what  is  a  more  wonderful 
illustration  of  His  power,  it  pervades  the  underworld,  and  the  dead 
tremble  under  its  inlkience.  Whether  the  statement  is  general,  or 
whether  perhaps  there  may  not  be  allusion  to  great  convulsions  in 
nature,  shaking  the  earth,  and  rousing  up  out  of  their  lethargy  even  the 
drowsy,  nerveless,  shades  with  terror,  may  be  doubtful. 

6.  HeH\  is  in  Heb.  Sheol,  the  place  where  deceased  persons  con- 
gregate, the  world  beneath.  It  is  not  a  place  of  pain,  though  a  dark 
and  dreary  abode,  ch.  x.  21,  22.  Those  there  are  the  dead,  who  still 
subsist,  though  they  do  not  live.  "Destruction,"  Heb.  abaddon,  is  a 
synonym  for  Sheol,  ch.  xxviii.  11.  This  as  well  as  all  things  is  naked 
to  the  eyes  of  Jehovah.     Comp.  Am.  ix.  2  ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  8. 

7 — 13.     God's  power  and  greatness  in  heaven  and  earth. 

7.  It  may  be  doubtful  whether  "the  north"  refers  to  the  northern 
part  of  the  earth  or  to  the  northern  heavens.  In  favour  of  the  latter 
reference  is  the  fact  that  the  expression  "stretch  out,"  often  said  in 
regard  to  the  heavens  (e.g.  ch.  ix.  8),  is  not  elsewhere  used  with 
reference  to  the  earth,  and  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  "the  earth" 
would  be  used  as  a  parallel  to  "the  north,"  a  part  of  the  earth. 
The  northern  region  of  the  heavens  also,  with  its  brilliant  constella- 
tions clustering  round  the  pole,  would  naturally  attract  the  eye,  and 


1 84  JOB,  XXVI.  [vv.  8,  9. 

A?id  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing. 

He  bincleth  up  the  waters  in  his  thick  clouds; 

And  the  cloud  is  not  rent  under  them. 

He  holdeth  back  the  face  of  his  throne, 

And  spreadeth  his  cloud  upon  it. 

seem  to  the  beholder,  who  looked  up  to  it  through  the  transparent 
atmosphere,  to  be  stretched  out  over  the  "empty  place,"  that  is,  the 
vast  void  between  earth  and  heaven.  That  a  different  mode  of  repre- 
sentation is  found  elsewhere,  the  arch  of  the  heavens  being  spoken  of  as 
reposing  on  the  earth  (Is.  xl.  22),  is  of  little  consequence.  Where 
religious  wonder  and  poetical  feeling,  not  scientific  thought,  dictate  the 
language  in  which  nature  and  its  phenomena  are  described,  uniformity 
of  conception  or  expression  is  not  to  be  looked  for.  And  the  words 
seem  to  refer  to  the  appearance  of  the  heavens  by  night,  when  the 
horizon  is  not  so  visible,  and  the  dark  "void"  between  earth  and 
heaven  more  impressive.  Others  think  of  the  northern  region  of  the 
earth,  the  region  where  lofty  mountains  rise,  and  whose  stability  without 
support  seems  most  wonderful.  It  is  difficult  in  this  case,  however,  to 
conjecture  what  the  void  is  over  which  the  "north"  is  stretched;  the 
opinion  of  Ewald  that  it  is  the  abyss  of  Sheol  is  too  adventurous. 

hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing]  To  hang  "upon"  is  to  \\M-\g  from  ; 
the  representation,  therefore,  is  that  the  earth  is  suspended,  attached  to 
nothing  above  it  which  sustains  its  weight,  not  that  it  hangs  with  no 
support  under  it.  The  representation  obviously  is  the  other  side  of 
that  in  reference  to  "the  north"  in  the  first  clause.  The  eye  was  im- 
pressed by  the  great  void  between  earth  and  the  siarry  heavens.  The 
latter  were  stretched  over  this  abyss,  upheld  by  nothing  under  them,  a 
striking  instance  of  the  power  of  God ;  while  the  broad  face  of  the 
earth  lay  firm  below  this  void  though  hung  from  no  support  that  upheld 
it.  The  idea  of  modern  astronomy  that  the  earth  is  a  ball,  poised  free 
on  all  sides  in  space,  is  of  course  not  found  here. 

8.  The  wonder  of  the  clouds,  floating  reservoirs  of  water,  which  do 
not  burst  under  the  weight  of  waters  which  they  contain.  Men  bind  up 
water  in  skins  or  bottles,  God  binds  up  the  rain  floods  in  the  thin,  gauzy 
texture  of  the  changing  cloud,  which  yet  by  His  power  does  not  rend 
under   its    burden   of    w  aters.      Comp.    Prov.    xxx.   4 ;    Job    xxxviii. 

9.  he  holdeth  bae/c]  Or,  lie  shutteth  up,  or,  enshrouds.  The  "face 
of  his  throne  "  is  perhaps  the  outside  of  it,  or  that  view  which  it  would 
present  if  seen ;  and  the  meaning  is  that  He  enshrouds  His  throne  so 
that  it  is  not  seen  by  those  below.  The  idea  caimot  be  that  this  is  an 
occasional  phenomenon,  as  if  sometimes  His  throne  could  be  seen,  for 
though  He  has  set  His  glory  on  the  heavens,  Ps.  viii.  2  (comp.  Ex.  xxiv. 
10 ;  Ps.  xviii.  12),  this  is  but  a  reflection  of  the  inner  glory.  The  con- 
ception rather  is  that  clouds  are  ever  about  Him,  in  His  lofty  abode,  and 
even  accompany  and  enshroud  Him  in  all  His  movements;  ch.  xxxviii. 
I ;  Am.  ix.  6;  Ps.  civ.  3 — 13. 


vv.  10-13.]  JOB,   XXVI. 185 

He  hath  compassed  the  waters  with  bounds,  i 

Until  the  day  and  night  come  to  an  end. 

The  pillars  of  heaven  tremble  i 

And  are  astonished  at  his  reproof. 

He  divideth  the  sea  with  his  power,  i 

And  by  his  understanding  he  smiteth  through  the  proud. 

By  his  spirit  he  hath  garnished  the  heavens;  '  j 

His  hand  hath  formed  the  crooked  serpent. 

10.     The  verse  reads, 
He  hath  drawn  as  a  circle  a  bound  upon  the  face  of  the  waters, 
At  the  confines  of  light  and  darkness. 
The  second  clause  is  literally,  even  to  the  confines  of  light  with  (or,  by) 
darkness,  i.  e.  as  far  as  where  the  utmost  bound  of  light  borders  with 
darkness.     The  idea  seems  to  be  this  :  around  the  surface  of  tlie  earth 
flows  the  ocean  ("the  face  of  the  waters");  upon  this  like  a  circle  all 
around  the  earth  the  arch  of  heaven  comes  down  ;  all  within  this  bound 
is  light,  for  the  sun  rises  on  one   side  of  it  and  goes  down  at  the 
other ;  beyond  this  circle  lies  the  utter  darkness.     Comp.  eh.  xxxviii. 
1 9  seq. 

11.'  The  "  pillars  "  of  the  heavens,  if  the  conception  be  not  wholly 
ideal,  may  be  the  lofty  mountains  on  which  the  heavens  seem  to  rest, 
and  which,  as  they  are  lost  in  the  clouds,  are  spoken  of  as  belonging  to 
heaven.  At  God's  rebuke,  when  His  voice  of  thunder  rolls,  or  when 
earthquakes  shake  the  earth,  they  tremble  with  terror  of  His  majesty. 

12,  13.     These  verses  probably  read, 

12.  He  quelleth  the  sea  with  his  power, 

And  by  his  understanding  he  smiteth  through  Rahab. 

13.  By  his  breath  the  heavens  are  bright, 
His  hand  pierceth  the  fleeing  serpent. 

Others  for  "quelleth"  or  stilleth,  prefer  the  meaning  "  stirreth  up." 
Comp.  Is.  li.  15  ;  Jerem.  xxxi.  35.  The  word  means  "to  terrify,"  and 
the  parallelism  of  the  second  clause  "smiteth  through  Rahab,"  which 
refers  to  the  subduing  of  a  raging  monster,  suggests  that  the  sea  when 
"terrified"  or  rebuked  is  in  a  state  of  fury,  and  is  quelled  by  the  power 
of  God.  So  already  the  Sept.  KaTiiravcrev.  This  sense  is  also  more 
suitable  to  the  words  "  by  his  power."     On  Rahab  see  notes,  ch.  ix.  13. 

13.  fijy  his  spirit  he  hath  garnished^  Rather  as  above.  The  reference 
is  to  the  clearing  away  of  storm  clouds,  that  darken  the  heavens,  by  the 
breath  of  God. 

hath  formed}^  Rather  as  above,  pierceth.  The  words  express  the 
half  poetical,  half  mythological  conception  that  the  darkening  in  storm 
or  in  eclipse  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  caused  by  the  Dragon  swallowing 
them  up.  See  on  ch.  iii.  8,  vii.  12.  There  is  no  reason  to  identify  the 
swift  or  fleeing  serpent  with  the  constellation  of  the  Dragon.  Comp. 
Is.  xxvii.  I,  with  Mr  Cheyne's  excellent  note. 


iS6  JOB,   XXVI.  [v.  14- 

Lo,  these  arc  parts  of  his  ways : 

But  how  Httle  a  portion  is  heard  of  him  ? 

But  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand  ? 

14.     The  verse  reads, 

Lo  these  are  the  outskirts  of  his  ways; 

And  how  small  a  whisper  is  that  which  we  hear  of  him  ! 

But  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand  ? 
The  power  of  God  is  illustrated  in  the  mighty  works  described  in 
vv.  5 — 13.  Yet  what  we  see  of  Him  in  these  is  but  the  ends,  the  out- 
skirts of  His  real  operations.  And  what  we  hear  of  Him  is  but  as  a 
faint  whisper;  the  thunder  of  the  full  unfoUling  of  His  power  who  can 
understand?  The  nervous  brevity  and  sublimity  of  these  words  are 
unsurpassable. 

Cn.  XXVH.    Job  protests  his  innocence. 

The  third  speaker,  Zophar,  fails  to  come  forward  ;  and  Job,  after  a 
pause,  resumes  his  discourse.  This  discourse  is  necessary  in  order  to 
give  this  third  cycle  of  speeches  the  same  form  as  the  previous  two  had. 
In  each  case  Job  in  his  third  speech  directly  attacks  the  previous  argu- 
ments of  his  opponents.  In  ch.  xxii.  Eliphaz  had  made  against  him 
plain  charges  of  great  wickedness.  Job  now  meets  these  by  a  solemn 
protestation  before  God  of  his  innocence  (ch.  xxvii.  i — 6). 

As  the  chapters  are  at  present  arranged  Job's  tinal  discourse  consists 
of  two  parts,  one  occupying  chap,  xxvii. — xxviii.,  and  the  other  ch.  xxix. 
— xxxi.,  at  the  close  of  which  stands  the  formula,  The  wonh  of  Job  are 
ended.  The  exposition  of  ch.  xxvii. — xxviii.  is  beset  with  difficulty, 
partly  because  the  line  of  thought  is  hard  to  trace,  and  partly  because 
the  sentiments  expressed  by  Job  seem  to  be  in  contradiction  to  the 
position  he  has  hitherto  maintained  and  which  he  again  resumes  in  the 
following  chapters.  Hence  doubts  have  been  entertained  by  very  many 
writers  whether  these  two  chapters  ought  really  to  be  ascribed  to  Job, 
some  considering  that  the  discourses  in  this  part  of  the  Book  have 
fallen  into  disorder  and  been  attributed  to  the  wrong  speakers,  and 
others  that  the  main  part  of  the  passage  ch.  xxvii. — xxviii.  is  an  alto- 
gether foreign  element,  which  has  been  introduced  into  the  Book  after 
it  left  the  hand  of  the  original  writer.     See  the  Introduction. 

Chap,  xxvii.  consists  of  two  main  parts, 

First,  w.  I — 6,  a  solemn  protestation  before  God  by  Job  of  his 
innocence ; 

And  second,  w.  7 — 23,  a  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  wicked  man, 
in  two  divisions,  (i)  his  dreary  and  desolate  condition  of  mind,  having 
no  hope  in  God,  when  death  or  afflictions  overtake  him,  vv.  7—10;  and 
(2)  the  terrible  external  destruction  that  befalls  him  at  the  hand  of  God, 
II'.  II — 23. 

2 — 6.  Job  with  the  solemnity  of  an  oath  by  God  declares  that  he 
speaks  in  sincerity  when  affirming  his  innocence.     Till  he  die  he  will 


vv.  1—6.]  JOB,  XXVII.  187 

Moreover  Job  continued  his  parable,  and  said,  27 

As  God  liveth,  7C'/io  hath  taken  away  my  judgment;  2 

And  the  Ahnighty,  7v/io  hath  vexed  my  soul; 
All  the  while  my  breath  is  in  me,  5 

And  the  spirit  of  God  is  in  my  nostrils; 
]My  lips  shall  not  speak  wickedness,  4 

Nor  my  tongue  utter  deceit. 

God  forbid  that  I  should  justify  you:  5 

Till  I  die  I  will  not  remove  my  integrity  from  me. 
My  righteousness  I  hold  fast,  and  will  not  let  it  go :  6 

My  heart  shall  not  reproach  ?/u'  so  long  as  I  live. 

not   admit   his  guilt;  his   conscience   reproaches   him   for  no  part  of 
his  life. 

Verses  2 — 4  read, 

2.  As  God  liveth  who  hath  taken  away  my  right, 
And  the  Almighty  who  hath  made  bitter  my  soul, 

3.  (For  my  life  is  yet  whole  in  me, 

And  the  breath  of  God  is  in  my  nostrils), 

4.  My  lips  do  not  speak  unjustly. 
Neither  doth  my  tongue  utter  deceit. 

2.  my  judgment^  As  above,  my  right.  God  has  taken  this  away  by 
afflicting  Job  unjustly.  The  state  of  Job's  mind  here  is  altogether  the 
same  as  before.  He  still  cleaves  to  God  and  swears  by  His  name,  and 
still  charges  Him  with  iniquity  in  His  treatment  of  himself. 

vexed  my  sotW]  lit.  embittered,  i.e.  by  his  mysterious  afilictions  ;  comp. 
Ruth  i.  20  ("dealt  bitterly"). 

3.  all  the  while]  The  sense  is  rather  as  given  above,  according  to  the 
parallel  passage,  2  Sam.  i.  9.  The  phrase  "my  life  "  in  the  first  clause 
is  lit.  ?ny  breath.  The  words  are  parenthetical,  and  are  thrown  in  to 
add  weight  to  the  affirmation  of  his  rectitude  which  Job  is  about  to 
make  {v.  4) ;  they  imply  that,  though  reduced  by  disease,  he  is  in  pos- 
session of  all  his  powers,  and  flings  the  whole  force  of  his  being  into 
his  affirmation. 

4.  my  lips  shall  not]  Rather,  do  not.  These  words  contain  Job's 
oath.  He  swears  that  he  is  sincere  and  speaks  truly;  comp.  ch.  vi.  28. 
The  words  refer  to  his  utterances  in  general,  especially  in  regard  to 
himself,  but  naturally  in  the  main,  as  the  connexion  requires,  to  his 
assertions  in  regard  to  his  innocence  of  wrong-doing  (7'v.  5,  6). 

5.  should  justify  you]  i.e.  concede  that  you  are  in  the  right,  viz.  in 
charging  me  with  evil. 

ret?iove  my  integrity]  i.e.  give  up  my  blamelessness— refrain  from 
asserting  my  innocence. 

6.  The  second  clause  of  v.  6  reads. 

My  heart  reproacheth  not  one  of  my  days, 
or,  ;;y  heart  reproaches  {me)  not  since  I  was  alive,  i.e.  during  all  my  life. 


i88  JOB,  XXVI I.  [vv.  7,  8. 

Let  mine  enemy  be  as  the  wicked, 

And  he  that  riseth  up  against  me  as  the  unrighteous. 

For  what  is  the  hope  of  the  hypocrite,  though  he  hath 

gained, 
When  God  taketh  away  his  soul  ? 

Of  course  the  words  have  reference  to  the  kind  of  charges  laid  against 
Job  by  his  friends  (e.g.  ch.  xxii.  6 — 9),  and  not  to  the  sinfulness  of 
nature  common  to  all  men,  ch.  xiv.  2.  The  "heart"  in  Heb.  is  the 
conscience  or  consciousness.  Luther  expresses  the  meaning  vigorously 
when  he  translates:  "My  conscience  bites  me  not  in  respect  of  my 
whole  life."  Comp.  the  whole  of  ch.  xxxi.,  which  is  but  an  expansion 
of  these  words. 

7 — 10.     The  dreary  and  desolate  condition  of  the  mind  of  the  wicked 
man  in  affliction. 

7.  In  vv.  1 — 6  Job  protested  his  sincerity  in  affirming  his  innocence. 
With  V.  7  commences  a  description  of  the  misery  of  mind,  and  the  out- 
ward destruction  at  the  hand  of  God,  which  are  the  portion  of  the 
unrighteous.  The  "wicked"  is  the  subject  throughout  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter;  therefore  in  the  words  "  let  mine  enemy  be  as  the  wicked  " 
the  emphasis  falls  on  "wicked."  The  words  express  the  speaker's 
abhorrence  of  the  "wicked,"  they  do  not  imprecate  evil  on  his 
"enemy."  It  it  understood  that  he  wishes  his  "enemy"  ill,  and  he 
can  wish  him  nothing  worse  than  that  he  should  be  as  the  "  wicked  " — 
so  much  does  he  himself  shrink  from  the  thought  of  being  as  the  wicked 
are.  Others  (e.g.  Delitzsch)  put  the  emphasis  on  "enemy,"  taking  that 
expression  to  mean  "him  who  accuses  me  of  iniquity" — mine  enemy 
must  appear  an  evil-doer,  inasmuch  as  he  charges  me  falsely.  This 
makes  the  verse  a  mere  parenthetical  imprecation  by  Job  on  his  friends, 
for  the  words  taken  in  this  sense  have  no  connexion  with  vv.  8 — 10. 
The  speaker,  rather,  repudiates  the  idea  of  his  being  one  of  the  wicked, 
and  he  does  so  because  he  shudders  to  think  that  the  condition  of  the 
mind  of  the  wicked  man,  who  has  no  hope  in  God,  should  be  his — his 
condition  of  mind  is  very  different  {vv.  8 — 10).  Still  even  when  taken 
in  this,  their  only  natural  sense,  the  words  of  ».  7  have  no  strict  logical 
connexion  with  vv.  1 — 6.  The  connexion  is  :  "I  will  never  cease  to 
maintain  that  I  am  a  righteous  man,  for  how  comfortless  in  calamity  is 
the  condition  of  the  wicked!"  while  strictly  it  should  be:  "I  will 
never  cease  holding  on  to  the  way  of  righteousness,  for  how  comfortless 
in  affliction  is  the  wicked  man,  having  no  hope  in  God  !  "  So  far  as 
the  mere  language  of  w.  5,  6  is  concerned,  the  expressions  "  I  will 
not  remove  mine  integrity  from  me,"  "  and  my  righteousness  I  hold  fast," 
might  have  the  meaning  "I  will  continue  to  live  a  righteous  life" 
(comp.  ch.  ii.  9),  but  such  a  meaning  is  absolutely  excluded  here  by  the 
connexion  and  general  scope  oivv.  2 — 6. 
8.     The  verse  most  probably  means, 

For  what  is  the  hope  of  the  godless  man  when  God  cutteth  off, 

When  he  taketh  away  his  soul  ? 


vv.  9,  lo.]  JOB,  XXVII.  189 

Will  God  hear  his  cry  c 

When  trouble  cometh  upon  him  ? 

Will  he  delight  himself  in  the  Almighty  ?  i 

Will  he  always  call  upon  God  ? 

lit.  what  He  cutteth  off,  when  God  draweth  out  his  soul.  The  comfortless 
state  of  the  ungodly  man  (A.  V.  hypocrite,  see  on  ch.  viii.  13),  who  has 
no  trust  in  God,  is  described  in  three  conditions  of  his  history,  first, 
when  he  is  at  the  moment  of  death,  when  God  "  cutteth  (him)  off"  and 
"  draweth  out  his  soul  "  {v.  8) ;  second,  when  calamity  overtakes  him 
(z/.  9)  ;  and  in  general,  in  his  whole  life  {v.  10). 

10.  will  he  delight  himself?]  Or,  doth  he  delight  himself?  The 
wicked  man  has  no  consolation,  no  resource,  in  the  manifold  conditions 
of  life  when  men  need  higher  help  than  their  own  ;  he  has  no  pleasure 
in  God  nor  fellowship  with  Him,  and  cannot  appeal  to  Him. 

It  is  manifest  that  in  these  verses  the  speaker  means  to  contrast  his 
own  condition  of  mind  with  that  of  the  godless  man.  He  has  hope  in 
God,  in  death  and  in  trouble,  for  he  delighteth  himself  in  God  at  all 
times.  Such  \vords  as  those  in  vv.  8,  10,  are  not  out  of  place  in  the 
mouth  of  Job,  comp.  ch.  xvi.  19  seq.,  xix.  25  seq.,  xxiii.  10  seq.,  xxxi. 
2 — 6.  It  is  less  easy,  however,  to  combine  what  is  implied  in  the 
words  of  z'.  9,  "  Will  God  hear  his  cry  when  trouble  cometh  upon  him  ?  " 
with  Job's  repeated  complaints  that  God  refused  to  hear  him,  e.  g.  ch. 
xiii.  24,  xix.  7,  and  many  other  passages.  The  only  solution  would  be 
to  consider  that  he  had  fought  his  way  through  to  an  assured  trust  in 
God,  such  as  he  had  cherished  during  his  past  life  (ch.  xii.  4  seq.),  or 
rather,  that  such  a  trust  here  suddenly  broke  upon  him  and  filled  his 
mind,  and  enabled  him  to  look  now  for  release  from  his  calamities  and 
restoration — in  a  word  to  anticipate  that  issue  of  his  afflictions  which 
actually  ensued.  And  such  is  the  construction  which  some  of  the 
ablest  commentators  (e.  g.  Ewald)  put  upon  the  language.  Such  a 
change  of  view  in  regard  to  the  issue  of  his  afflictions  implies  a  com- 
plete revolution  in  Job's  mind,  for  he  had  hitherto  consistently  and  even 
pertinaciously  (ch.  xvii.  i — 2,  10 — 16)  contended  that  his  malady  was 
mortal,  and  continued  to  do  this  even  so  late  as  ch.  xxiii.  14,  "  For  he 
will  perform  the  thing  appointed  for  me."  Such  a  revolution,  how- 
ever, may  be  conceived  and  admitted,  provided  Job's  subsequent 
utterances  are  in  harmony  with  it.  Unfortunately,  however,  they  are 
not ;  for  in  ch.  xxx.  20  he  exclaims,  "  I  cry  unto  thee  and  thou  dost  not 
hear  me,  I  stand  up  and  thou  gazest  at  me  " ;  and  in  v.  23  of  the  same 
chapter  he  says,  "  For  I  know  that  thou  wilt  bring  me  unto  death  "  (i.e. 
through  his  present  afflictions).  Here  he  is  found  again  occupying  the 
same  position  in  regard  to  his  malady  under  the  hand  of  God  as  he  had 
consistently  maintained  throughout.  It  is  very  hard  to  reconcile  such 
expressions  with  ch.  xxvii.  7 — 10,  on  the  assumption  that  the  last- 
named  passage  really  belongs  to  Job. 

11 — 23.     The  disastrous  fate  of  the  wicked  man  at  the  hand  of  God. 

Verses  7 — 10  drew  a  contrast  between  the  internal  state  of  the  mind 
of  the  speaker  and  that  of  the  sinner ;  in  these  verses  the  contrast  is 


igo  JOB,  XXVII.  [vv.  ii,  12. 

I  will  teach  you  by  the  hand  of  God : 

That  which  is  with  the  Almighty  will  I  not  conceal. 

Behold,  all  ye  yourselves  have  seen  it ; 

Why  then  are  ye  thus  altogether  vain  ? 

pursued  in  a  terrible  picture  of  the  external  history  and  fate  of  the 
sinner  at  the  hand  of  God.  From  Job's  hand  such  a  picture  can  have 
no  meaning,  unless  either  he  now  anticipates  for  himself  a  happy  issue 
out  of  his  atfiictions,  and  restoration  to  prosperity,  while  the  calamities 
that  befall  the  wicked  are  final;  or  regards  his  own  afllictions,  even 
though  they  should  bring  him  unto  death,  as  altogether  different  in  their 
character  and  marks  from  those  that  bring  the  wicked  man  to  destruc- 
tion. Either  side  of  the  alternative  sets  Job  in  complete  contradiction 
to  his  position  in  the  chapters  that  precede  and  follow  this  one.  On 
the  former  side  see  on  v.  10.  The  latter  side  supposes  Job  now  to  take 
a  view  of  his  afflictions  entirely  opposed  to  that  which  he  has  hitherto 
taken  and  continues  to  take,  namely  that  they  are  due  to  the  enmity  and 
hostility  of  God  (ch.  xiii.  24,  xvi.  9,  xix.  11,  22,  but  also  ch.  xxx.  2r, 
and  even  the  present  chap.  vv.  2—6) — a  view  which  Elihu  severely 
animadverts  upon,  ch.  xxxiii.  10  seq.  And  the  idea  that  to  become  the 
prey  of  pestilence  and  sword  (vv.  14 — 15)  is  a  sure  mark  of  a  wicked 
man,  while  to  be  the  victim  of  a  fatal  and  loathsome  malady  is  no  such 
proof  of  wickedness  (Delitzsch),  is  one  which  it  is  difficult  to  treat  with 
seriousness. 

11.  by  the  hand  of  Godi  Rather,  concerning  the  hand  of  God.  In  a 
brief  preface  Job  intimates  that  he  will  instruct  his  friends  regarding  the 
hand  of  God,  that  is,  His  operation,  His  method  of  dealing  with  the 
wicked. 

with  the  Almighty]  There  is  no  just  ground  for  restricting  the  phrase 
with  the  Almighty  to  the  meaning,  the  plans  or  purposes  of  the 
Almighty,  the  general  principles  of  His  government,  which  continue  to 
be  His  principles  though  they  may  not  for  a  time  appear  in  actual 
operation.  Such  a  limitation  is  interpolated  into  the  text,  and  is  con- 
trary to  the  parallelism  of  the  first  clause.  In  z/.  13  the  same  phrase 
occurs,  "the  portion  of  the  wicked  man  with  God,"  which  is  inter- 
preted in  the  next  clause  as  "  the  heritage  which  they  receive  from  the 
Almighty."  The  words  refer  to  no  idea/  of  moral  government,  such  as 
always  exists  and  may  always  manifest  itself;  they  describe  God's  actual 
treatment  of  the  wicked  man,  apart  from  all  limitation.  This  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  three  friends  ;  that  of  Job  in  ch.  xxi.,  and  even  ch.  xxiv. 
was  very  different. 

12.  are  ye  thus  altogether  vain?]  i.e.  wherefore  do  ye  cherish  and  ex- 
press opinions  regarding  me  so  foolish  ?  "  Two  things  are  surprising 
here,"  says  Dillmann,  "  first,  that  Job  should  undertake  to  teach  the  three 
friends  what  they  had  always  affirmed  ;  and  second,  that  he  should  say 
the  opposite  of  what  he  had  maintained  in  ch.  xxi.  and  xxiv.  of  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked  even  to  their  death."  A  third  thing  might  also 
seem  surprising,  namely  that  Job,  while  now  coinciding  with  his  friends 
in   opinion,  should   reproach  them   with  folly.     To  appropriate  their 


vv.  13—17.]  JOB,   XXVII.  191 

This  is  the  portion  of  a  wicked  man  with  God,  13 

And  the  heritage  of  oppressors,  which  they  shall  receive 

of  the  Almighty. 
If  his  children  be  multiplied,  //  is  for  the  sword :  14 

And  his  offspring  shall  not  be  satisfied  7uith  bread. 
Those  that  remain  of  him  shall  be  buried  in  death:  15 

And  his  widows  shall  not  weep. 

Though  he  heap  up  silver  as  the  dust,  16 

And  prepare  raiment  as  the  clay; 
He  may  prepare  //,  but  the  just  shall  put  //  on,  17 

sentiments  and  cover  the  operation  by  calling  them  foolish  persons 
was  not  generous.  The  connexion,  however,  of  tlie  two  clauses  in  this 
verse  implies  that  what  the  three  friends  had  seen  of  the  fate  of  the 
wicked  (as  now  to  be  described  by  Job,  vv.  13 — 23)  ought  to  have 
prevented  them  from  coming  to  such  conclusions  regarding  Job's  cha- 
racter as  they  had  expressed  or  insinuated.  Obviously  to  make  such  a 
reproach  appropriate  there  must  have  been  a  difference  clear  to  the  eye 
between  Job's  case  and  the  fate  of  the  wicked.  But  wherein  lay  the 
difference,  in  Job's  present  condition  ?  The  three  friends  might  be 
excused  if  they  did  not  perceive  it.  The  words  do  not  seem  to  fit  the 
condition  in  which  Job  still  remains  at  the  stage  of  development  which 
the  Poem  has  up  to  the  present  reached. 

13 — 23.  The  utter  destruction  of  the  wicked  man  is  exhibited  in 
three  turns  :  his  children  and  descendants  are  destined  for  the  sword, 
and  become  the  prey  of  famine  and  pestilence  [vv.  13 — 15);  his  wealth 
and  possessions  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  righteous,  and  his  home 
perishes  (vv.  16 — 18)  ;  and  he  himself  is  cut  off  suddenly  by  awful 
calamities  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  amidst  the  execrations  of  men 
{vv.  19—23). 

14.  With  the  sentiment  of  this  verse  compare  Job's  former  words  in 
regard  to  the  wicked,  "Their  seed  is  established  in  their  sight  with 
them,  and  their  offspring  before  their  eyes.  They  send  forth  their  little 
ones  like  a  flock,  and  their  children  dance.  They  spend  their  days  in 
wealth,"  ch.  xxi.  8  seq. 

15.  buried  in  death']  "  Death  "  is  here,  as  often  (Jer.  xv.  1,  xviii.  21, 
xliii.  w)  pestilence.  Those  that  sword  and  famine  spare  {v,  14)  become 
the  prey  of  the  pestilence,  and  their  burial  shall  be  such  as  those  so 
dying  receive,  without  funeral  rites  and  with  no  accompaniment  of  la- 
menting women.  This  idea  is  more  distinctly  expressed  in  the  next 
clause,  "his  widows  shall  not  weep";  comp.  Ps.  Ixxviii.  64.  Comp. 
Job's  previous  words  as  to  the  "burial  "  of  the  wicked,  ch.  xxi.  32. 

16.  The  "dust"  and  "clay"  or  mire  are  images  that  express 
extreme  abundance,  Zech.  ix.  3,  i  Kings  x.  27.  Great  wardrobes  of 
costly  garments  are  a  usual  element  of  Oriental  wealth.  Gen.  xxiv.  53, 
Josh.  vii.  21,  2  Kings  vii.  8,  Matth.  vi.  19. 

17.  When  the  ungodly  are  swept  away  the  righteous  remain  and 


192  JOB,  XXVII.  [vv.  18—21. 

And  the  innocent  shall  divide  the  silver. 

He  buildeth  his  house  as  a  moth, 

And  as  a  booth  that  the  keeper  maketh. 

The   rich   man    shall    lie    down,    but    he   shall    not   be 

gathered : 
He  openeth  his  eyes,  and  he  is  not. 
Terrors  take  hold  on  him  as  waters, 
A  tempest  stealeth  him  away  in  the  night. 
The  east  wind  carrieth  him  away,  and  he  departeth : 
And  as  a  storm  hurleth  him  out  of  his  place. 

enter  into  their  possessions,  and  the  meek  inherit  the  earth,  Ps.  xxxvii. 

29.  34- 

18.  The  "booth"  of  the  "keeper"  referred  to  is  the  flimsy  hut 
erected  in  the  vineyard  or  other  gardens  as  a  post  for  the  watchman, 
who  protects  the  fruit  from  theft  or  destruction  by  wild  beasts.  As 
described  by  Wetzstein  (Del.  Comni.  on  yob.  Trans,  ii.  p.  74,  2nd  ed. 
p.  348),  it  is  built  of  four  poles  struclc  into  the  ground  in  the  form  of  a 
square.  About  eight  feet  from  tlie  ground  cross  sticl<s  are  tied  to  these 
poles,  over  which  boards  are  laid,  and  thus  a  coucli  is  formed  for  the 
keeper.  Some  feet  higher  up  other  cross  pieces  of  wood  are  fixed,  and 
over  these  boughs  or  matting  is  thrown  to  form  a  roof.  Such  a  booth  is 
called  a  "  lodge  "  Is.  i.  8,  and  its  unsubstantial  character  is  indicated 
when  it  is  said  to  "swing  to  and  fro,"  Is.  xxiv.  20. 

19.  the  rich  man  shall  lie  dozan]  "  Rich  "  is  equivalent  to  "  wicked," 
Is.  liii.  9.     The  words  might  be  rendered,  he  licth  dozun  rich. 

shall  not  be  gathered]  The  parallel  in  the  next  clause,  he  is  not, 
suggests  the  general  sense,  he  shall  rise  no  more.  Perhaps  the  most 
probable  sense  is  that  he  shall  not  "be  gathered  and  buried,"  according 
to  the  passages,  Jer.  viii.  1,  xxv.  33,  Ezek.  xxix.  5  ;  he  shall  have  no 
funeral  solemnities  but  shall  be  carried  away  by  a  sudden  destruction. 
Others  assume  (after  the  Sept.)  a  different  vocalization,  he  shall  do  it 
(lie  down)  no  more.     This  is  rather  flat. 

he  openeth  his  eyes,  and  he  is  not]  The  words  describe  the  suddenness 
of  his  destruction.  The  phrase  is  no  more  remarkable  than  that  in 
2  Kings  xix.  35,  "When  they  arose  early  in  the  morning  behold  they 
were  all  dead  corpses."  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  circumscribe  the 
words,  "  Hardly  shall  the  sinner  open  his  eyes,  to  view  his  destruction, 
when  he  is  swept  away." 

20.  The  figure  of  overwhelming  waters  is  a  natural  one  in  the  East 
and  common  in  Scripture,  Ps.  xviii.  16,  Nah.  i.  8.  Comp.  the  language 
of  Eliphaz  to  Job,  ch.  xxii.  11. 

21.  The  east  wind  is  gusty  and  tempestuous,  ch.  xxxviii.  24,  Ps. 
xlviii.  7.     See  Wetzstein's  note  in  Del. 

and  as  a  storm  hurlelJi]  Or,  and  in  storm  hurleth.  With  this  which 
Job  says  of  the  sinner  compare  what  he  says  of  himself,  ch.  ix.  17,  xxx. 
22,  "Thou  liftest  me  up  to  the  wind  ;  thou  causest  me  to  ride  upon  it, 


vv.  22,  23;  I.]         JOB,  XXVII.   XXVIII.  I93 

For  God  shall  cast  upon  him,  and  not  spare:  22 

He  would  fain  flee  out  of  his  hand. 

Men  shall  clap  their  hands  at  him,  23 

And  shall  hiss  him  out  of  his  place. 

Surely  there  is  a  vein  for  the  silver,  28 

And  a  place  for  gold  ivhcre  they  fme  //. 

and  dissolvest  me  in  the  tempest  "  ;  and  see  his  former  query  regarding 
the  wicked,  ch.  xxi.  18. 

22.  shall  cast  iifion  hini\  i.e.  shall  shoot  down  upon  him  His  de- 
stroying arrows,  Numb.  xxxv.  20.  Comp.  again  what  Job  says  of 
himself,  ch.  vi.  4,  xvi.  13,  "His  arrows  compass  me  round  about,  he 
cleaveth  my  reins  and  doth  not  spare." 

23.  men  shall  clap  their  hands']  Clapping  the  hands  is  a  token  of 
malignant  gladness,  Lam.  ii.  15,  and  "hissing"  a  token  of  scorn  and 
dislike,  Jer.  xlix.  17.  See  ch.  xviii.  18,  xx.  27.  Comp.  what  Job  says 
of  his  own  treatment  by  men,  ch.  xvii.  6,  xxx.  9 — 14. 

Cn.  XXVIII.     Wisdom  can  nowhere  be  found  by  man;   God 

ALONE    IS    IN    possession    OF    IT;    THE   WISDOM    OF   MAN    IS   TO 
FEAR  THE  LORD. 

The  chapter  contains  a  single  thought,  viz.  that  Wisdom  cannot  be 
reached  by  man.  The  thought,  however,  is  set  forth  and  illustrated  in 
many  ways  and  with  much  poetical  adornment. 

First,  V.  I — 14,  the  precious  ores  and  stones  hai'C  a  place  where  they 
may  be  found,  to  which  men  penetrate  and  from  which  they  bring  them 
forth  to  the  light ;  but  Wisdom  has  no  place  where  it  can  be  found  in 
all  the  land  of  the  living. 

Second,  vv.  15 — 22,  Wisdom  is  not  to  be  seen  in  the  marts  of  man- 
kind ;  it  cannot  be  purchased  though  gold  and  all  precious  things  were 
offered  for  it.  It  is  not  found  even  in  the  world  below,  the  realm  of 
the  dead. 

Third,  vv.  23 — 28,  God  alone  knoweth  the  way  to  it  and  is  in 
possession  of  it,  for  He  is  the  Creator  of  the  World.  The  Wisdom  of 
man  is  the  Fear  of  the  Lord. 

1.  surely  there  is]  Rather,  for  there  is.  The  connexion,  however, 
with  the  preceding  is  difficult  to  perceive  (see  at  the  end  of  the 
chapter). 

there  is  a  vein]  lit.  an  issue  or  source.  The  emphasis  falls  on  is — 
there  is  a  place  from  which  silver  comes  forth,  it  Jias  a  source  out  of 
which  it  may  be  gotten. 

-where  they  fine  it]  Rather,  whicli  they  (men)  refine.  The  most 
precious  ores,  both  silver  and  gold,  have  a  place  where  they  may  be 
found  ;  however  distant  and  dark  and  deep  in  the  earth  their  place  be, 
such  a  place  is  known,  men  penetrate  to  it,  and  bring  them  forth.  The 
antithesis  is  presented  in  v.  12,  But  whence  shall  Wisdom  be  found? 
and  where  is  the  place  of  understanding  ?  It  hath  no  place  known  to 
man. 

JOB  13 


194  JOB,   XXVIII.  [vv. 

Iron  is  taken  out  of  the  earth, 

And  brass  is  molten  out  of  \.\\q  stone. 

He  setteth  an  end  to  darkness, 

And  searcheth  out  all  perfection, 

The  stones  of  darkness,  and  the  shadow  of  death. 

The  flood  breaketh  out  from  the  inhabitant; 

Even  the  waters  forgotten  of  the  foot: 

They  are  dried  up,  they  are  gone  away  from  men. 

As  for  the  earth,  out  of  it  cometh  bread: 

And  under  it  is  turned  up  as  it  were  fire. 


2.  brass  is  molten  out  of  the  stone\  lit.  they  (men)  melt  the  stone  into 
brass,  i.  e.  copper.     Men  know  how  to  possess  themselves  of  the  metals. 

3 — 11.     Description  of  mining  operations. 

he  seiteth']  To  prevent  ambiguity  it  is  better  to  translate,  man  setteth, 
or,  men  set.  The  phrase  "setteth  an  end  to  darkness"  hardly  refers 
to  the  light  shed  by  the  miner's  lamp ;  the  expression  is  more  general, 
meaning  that  men  penetrate  into  what  is  dark  and  deep  in  the  earth 
as  if  it  were  light  and  above  ground — as  the  next  clause  explains. 

searcheth  out  all  pcrfcction\  Rather,  searcheth  out  to  the  very  end, 
or,  utmost  limit,  the  stones  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death, 
that  is,  the  darkest  recesses  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  The  word, 
very  e)id  or  utmost  limit  is  that  occurring,  ch.  xxvi.  lo  (see  notes)  and 
ch.  xi.  7.     On  "shadow  of  death"  see  on  ch.  xxiv.  17. 

4.  This  verse  reads  as  a  whole. 

They  break  a  shaft  away  from  man's  abode ; 
They  are  forgotten  of  the  foot ; 
Far  away  from  men  they  hang,  and  swing. 
The  first  clause,  lit.  away  from  the  dweller  or  inhabitant,  describes 
how  the  miners  sink  their  shaft  deep  down  below  and  away  from  the 
abode  of  men  above.     There  they  are  forgotten  by  the  foot  of  those 
overhead,   who  walk  oblivious  of  them.     And  the  Inst  clause  describes 
how  they  "hang  and  swing,"  i.e.  swing  suspended  in  cages  or  from 
ropes  as  they  pursue  their  unnatural  operations — • 
half  way  down 
Hangs  one  that  gathers  samphire — dreadful  trade. 

5.  The  same  idea  of  the  distance  from  the  life  of  men  and  the 
unnaturalness  of  the  miner's  work  is  pursued  in  the  fine  contrast  between 
the  peaceful,  cultivated  and  fruitful  face  of  the  earth  above  and  the 
destructive  operations  carried  on  in  her  bowels,  which  leave  a  confusion 
and  devastation  like  that  caused  by  fire.  The  second  clause  must  be 
rendered. 

And  underneath  it  is  overturned  as  if  by  fire. 
The   reference   is  hardly   to  actual   blasting ;   rather  to  the  overthrow 
and  confused  ruin  that  iollows  the  miner's  operations. 


vv.  6— II.]  JOB,  XXVIII.  195 

The  stones  of  it  arc  the  place  of  sapphires : 

And  it  hath  dust  of  gold. 

There  is  a  path  which  no  fowl  knoweth, 

And  which  the  vulture's  eye  hath  not  seen : 

The  lion's  whelps  have  not  trodden  it, 

Nor  the  fierce  lion  passed  by  it. 

He  putteth  forth  his  hand  upon  the  rock ; 

He  overturneth  the  mountains  by  the  roots. 

He  cutteth  out  rivers  among  the  rocks; 

And  his  eye  seeth  every  precious  thing. 

He  bindeth  the  floods  from  overflowing; 

And  the  thing  that  is  hid  bringeth  he  forth  to  light. 

6.  Through  these  operations  which  carry  ruin  into  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  men,  however,  find  the  richest  reward.  The  stones  of  the  heart 
of  the  earth  are  the  place  of  sapphires,  and  of  auriferous  dust. 

it  hath  duit  of  gold}  "It"  refers  to  the  "place"  in  the  first  clause, 
hardly  to  the  sapphire,  although  a  particular  kind  of  sapphire  is  described 
as  being  grained  or  striated  with  gold.  This,  however,  can  hardly  be 
what  is  meant  by  "dust  of  gold."  Instead  of  it  hath  dust  we  might 
render  he  hath — i.  e.  man ;  he  finds  his  way  to  the  place  of  sapphires 
and  possesses  himself  of  the  auriferous  earth. 

7.  there  is  a  path]  Rather,  that  path  no  eagle  knoweth,  lit. — afath 
which  no  eagle  &c.,  the  words  taking  up  what  is  said  in  v.  6, — the  way 
to  the  place  of  sapphires.  The  sharp-sighted  birds  of  prey  have  not 
seen  that  path. 

8.  Neither  have  the  proud  wild  beasts,  which  fearlessly  penetrate 
into  the  darkest  places,  ever  trodden  that  path. 

the  lion's  %vhdps'\  Rather,  the  proud  heasts,  lit,  soiis  of  pride, 
ch.  xli.  34. 

passed  by  ?V]  i.  e.  passed  over  it,  walked  it. 

9 — 11.  Some  further  touches  regarding  the  irresistible  force  and 
the  skilful  ingenuity  with  which  man  conducts  his  operations,  with  the 
result  at  last  of  bringing  that  which  is  hidden  forth  to  light. 

9.  tcpon  the  rock\  Or,  the  flinty  rock;  man  puts  forth  his  hand 
upon  the  rock  either  to  break  it  or  pierce  a  way  through  it.  His  force 
makes  the  hardest  obstacle  give  way  before  him. 

10.  cutteth  out  rivers]  The  word  "  rivers  "  is  that  commonly  used  to 
denote  the  canals  into  which  the  Nile  was  divided,  and  might  be 
translated  canals  or  channels.  Such  canals  might  be  intended  for 
drawing  off  the  water  accumulating  in  the  mine.  The  second  clause 
suggests,  however,  that  the  word  rather  means  passages  or  galleries,  cut 
in  order  to  pursue  the  vein,  for  it  is  said,  "his  eye  seeth  every  precious 
thing." 

11.  he  bindeth  the  floods  from  overflowing]  Rather,  he  bindeth  up 
the  streams  that  they  drip  not,  lit.  that  they  weep  not.  The  reference 
is  to  the  use  of  lime  or  clay  to  prevent  water  percolating  into  the  mine. 

13—2 


195  JOB,   XXVIII.  [vv.  12—14. 

But  where  shall  wisdom  be  found? 

And  where  is  the  place  of  understanding? 

Man  knoweth  not  the  price  thereof; 

Neither  is  it  found  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

The  depth  saith,  It  is  not  in  me: 

And  the  sea  saith,  //  is  not  with  me. 

"  The  picturesque  phrase  ('  that  tliey  weep  not ')  may  have  been  a 
technical  term  among  miners  in  ancient  times,  just  as  our  colliers  name 
the  action  of  the  water  that  percolates  throui^h  and  into  their  workings 
7vccping,  and  our  navvies  call  the  fine  sand  which  percolates  through 
the  sides  of  a  tunnel  crying  sznA'''  (Cox,  Coiiiin.  on  Job,  p.  360). 

These  references  to  mining  operations  shew  that  the  Writer  was 
familiar  with  them.  The  frequent  allusions  to  Egypt  indicate  that  the 
Author  of  the  Book  was  well  acquainted  with  that  country,  and  possibly 
the  mines  that  were  extensively  worked  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  would 
be  an  object  of  interest  to  travellers  from  Palestine  to  Egypt.  It  appears, 
however,  that  mining  was  in  ancient  times  carried  on  in  the  Hauran 
and  even  in  the  Lebanon  ;  and  in  Deut.  viii.  9  Palestine  is  described  as 
"a  land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig 
brass." 

12—14.  The  precious  ores  and  costly  stones  though  hidden  have 
a  place  where  they  may  be  found,  and  man  knows  how  to  reach  it  and 
bring  that  which  is  hid  to  light,  but  where  can  Wisdom  be  found?  and 
where  is  the  place  of  understanding?  It  has  no  ]Dlace  and  is  unattain- 
able by  man ;  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  land  of  the  living,  in  the  deep 
nor  in  the  sea. 

13.  the  price  thereof  ^  For  "price"  the  Sept.  read  way — man 
knoweth  not  the  way  thereof  (cf.  v.  23),  i.e.  the  uiay  to  it,  and  very 
many  commentators  adopt  this  reading,  which  gives  a  more  direct 
answer  to  the  question  in  v.  12.  li  price  be  read,  the  phrase  "man 
knoweth  not  the  price  thereof"  docs  not  mean  that  "  it  is  too  precious 
to  be  bought  with  money,"  but  that  it  is  no  article  of  merchandise  in 
the  markets  of  mankind,  in  other  words,  it  has  never  been  found  and 
is  unknown  among  men.  This  meaning  is  clearly  expressed  in  the 
second  clause,  "  neither  is  it  found  in  the  land  of  the  living." 

14.  Three  great  regions  are  mentioned,  none  of  which  is  the 
"place"  of  Wisdom,  the  land  of  the  living,  the  deep,  and  the  sea. 
These  three  exlraust  the  extent  of  the  upper  world.  The  "land  of 
the  living"  is  the  earth  as  the  abode  of  living  beings,  more  especially 
of  men,  Ps.  lii.  5.  The  "deep"  is  the  primeval  abyss,  out  of  which 
perhaps  the  sea  is  fed,  lying  under  the  earth.  Gen.  i.  1,  Ps.  xxiv.  2 — an 
almost  mythological  conception.  Down  under  all  these,  however,  lies 
the  underworld  of  the  dead,  ch.  xxvi.  5. 

15—19.  As  the  preceding  verses  (i — 14)  expressed  the  idea  that 
there  was  no  "place"  of  Wisdom  where  men  could  find  it  and  from 
which  they  could  bring  it  forth,  these  verses  express  the  idea  that  it 
can   be  acquired  by  no  price  which  men  can  ofier  for  it.     It  is  alto- 


vv.  15—20.]  JOB,   XXVIII.  197 

It  cannot  be  gotten  for  gold,  ,3 

Neither  shall  silver  be  weighed  for  the  price  thereof. 

It  cannot  be  valued  with  the  gold  of  Ophir,  16 

With  the  precious  onyx,  or  the  sapphire. 

The  gold  and  the  crystal  cannot  equal  it:  17 

And  the  exchange  of  it  s/ia//  not  be  fo7'  jewels  of  fine  gold. 

No  mention  shall  be  made  of  coral,  or  of  pearls:  i3 

For  the  price  of  wisdom  is  above  rubies. 

The  topaz  of  Ethiopia  shall  not  equal  it,  19 

Neither  shall  it  be  valued  with  pure  gold. 

Whence  then  cometh  wisdom  ?  so 

And  where  is  the  place  of  understanding  ? 

gether  unattainable.  The  passage  may  contain  tlic  additional  idea 
of  the  preciousncss  or  desirableness  of  Wisdom  (see  v.  i8j,  but  the 
purpose  of  these  verses  is  not  to  set  forth  wisdom  as  a  good  or  as 
the  chief  good,  for  which  one  might  wilhngly  give  all  that  he  holds 
most  precious ;  the  thought  of  the  passage  is  that  tJiougJt  one  should 
offer  gold  and  precious  stones  for  Wisdom  it  cannot  be  procured, 
being  nowhere  to  be  found.  That  the  Writer's  purpose  is  to  express 
this  conception  mainly  is  evident  from  the  refrain  which  closes  the 
passage,  as  a  similar  one  closed  the  preceding  passage  :  But  Wis- 
dom whence   cometh  it?  and  where  is  the  place  of  understanding? 

15.  for  gold]  Probably,  as  margin,  Jine  gold,  i.e.  purified  gold; 
comp.  I  Kings  vi.  20,  where  a  word  somewhat  similar  occurs. 

be  zacigkcd]  In  ancient  times  money  was  weighed,  not  counted, 
Gen.  xxiii.  16. 

16.  zV  cannot  he  valned]  lit.  weighed  for  gold  of  Ophir.  W'isdom  is 
conceived  as  put  in  the  balance  as  other  articles  are  that  are  sold,  the 
price  given  for  it  being  gold  of  Ophir.  The  meaning  is,  it  cannot  be 
purchased  for  gold  of  Ophir.  The  word  weighed  here  differs  from  that 
in  V.  15,  though  it  has  the  same  meaning. 

17.  and  the  crystal]  Probably  glass,  which  was  rare  and  counted 
precious  in  ancient  times. 

ca7inot  equal  it]  The  word  means  to  arrange,  to  set  over  against,  to 
compare  with.  The  idea  here  is  that  gold  and  glass  cannot  be  set 
against  Wisdom  by  way  of  barter,  as  the  next  clause  distinctly  states. 

18.  or  of  pearls]  Rather,  of  crystal. 

price  of  ivisdoin  is  above  rubies]  Or,  the  possession  of  wisdom  is 
above  (or,  more  than)  pearls,  i.e.  pearls  cannot  acquire  it  or  give 
possession  of  it.  The  meaning  is  scarcely  that  Wisdom  is  a  more 
precious  thing  to  possess  than  pearls. 

19.  cqtial  it]  See  on  z'.  17. 
be  valued]  See  on  v.  16. 

20 — 22.  The  preceding  verses  indicated  that  W^isdom  cannot  be 
acquired  by  man  though  he  should  bid  for  it  the  most  precious  things 


iqS  job,  XXVIII.  [vv,  21—24. 

Seeing  it  is  hid  from  the  eyes  of  all  living, 

And  kept  close  from  the  fowls  of  the  air. 

Destruction  and  death  say, 

We  have  heard  the  fame  thereof  with  our  ears. 

God  understandeth  the  way  thereof, 

And  he  knoweth  the  place  thereof. 

For  he  looketh  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 

that  he  possesses,  in  other  words  that  it  is  unattainable  ;  these  verses 
state  that  idea  again  explicitly.  The  question  v.  20  implies  a  negative 
answer — nowhere  by  man. 

21.  seeing  it  is  hid]  Rather  simply,  it  is  hidden.  V.  20  as  sum- 
ming  w^vv.  15 — 19  meant,  thus  Wisdom  is  nowhere  to  be  attained;  v.  ai 
proceeds,  it  is  hidden  &c. 

kept  close\  i.e.  it  is  concealed  from,  unknown  to  the  fowls  of  the  air 
(comp.  V.  7) — no  creature  can  attain  to  it. 

22.  destruction  and  deaths  Heb.  Abaddon  and  Death.  Abaddon  is 
Sheol,  the  realm  of  the  dead,  here  personified,  as  also  is  Death.  Comp. 
Rev.  i.  18,  ix.  11,  and  see  on  ch.  xxvi.  6. 

the  fame  thereof  \  i.  e.  the  report  or  rumour  thereof.  Destruction  and 
Death  have  only  heard  of  Wisdom,  they  have  no  knowledge  of  it, 
much  less  is  it  to  be  found  with  them.  It  is  not  true,  alas!  in  this 
sense  that 

There  must  be  wisdom  with  great  Death. 

The  words  "we  have  heard  the  report  thereof"  ascribe  neither  a  less 
nor  a  greater  knowledge  of  Wisdom  to  Death  than  the  living  possess. 
Both  are  equally  ignorant  of  it,  and  equally  without  it.  As  verses  1 3—14 
told  how  Wisdom  was  nowhere  to  be  found  in  the  upper  world  so 
V.  12  states  that  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  under  world.  The  process 
of  exhaustion  is  complete :  Wisdom  is  nowhere  to  be  found,  neither  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth  nor  in  the  markets  of  mankind,  in  the  deep  nor 
in  the  sea ;  neither  in  the  land  of  the  living  nor  in  the  place  of  the 
dead. 

23—28.  Wisdom  can  nowhere  be  found  either  by  man  or  by  any 
creature  (p.  21),  only  by  the  Creator.  God  knoweth  the  place  of  it  and 
is  in  possession  of  it,  for  He  is  the  maker  and  upholder  of  the  universe 
with  all  its  agencies.  And  He  has  assigned  to  man  as  his  wisdom  the 
fear  of  the  Lord. 

23.  God  understandeth  the  ivay  thereof]  i.  e.  the  way  thereto  (ch. 
xxiv.  18,  Gen.  iii.  24).  The  word  Cc^^/ stands  emphatically  fust  in  the 
sentence,  in  opposition  to  "all  living"  {v.  21);  Jle  is  in  possession  of 
Wisdom.  It  need  not  be  said  that  the  words  "place"  arid  "way"  are 
merely  parts  of  the  figure;  the  verse  means.  Wisdom  is  zvith  God  alone. 

24.  God  is  in  possession  of  Wisdom  for  He  is  the  upholder  and 
creator  of  the  world. 

for  he  looketh  to  the  ends  of  the  earth]  His  glance  as  creator  and 
ruler  of  all  extends  over  all,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  to  all  that  lies 
under  the  whole  heavens. 


vv.  25-27.]  JOB,   XXVIII.  199 

And  seeth  under  the  whole  heaven; 

To  make  the  weight  for  the  winds;  25 

And  he  weigheth  the  waters  by  measure. 

When  he  made  a  decree  for  the  rain,  26 

And  a  way  for  the  hghtning  of  the  thunder: 

Then  did  he  see  it,  and  declare  it;  27 

25.  io  make  the  ivclght  for  the  zvinds]  Or,  making  (when  he  made), 
appointing  the  winds  their  greater  or  less  force.  The  idea  is  of  course 
that  God  weighed  the  winds  themselves,  i.  e.  defined  their  bulk  exactly, 
not  that,  in  modern  language,  he  gave  to  each  its  weight  or  pressure, 
though  the  sense  is  little  different. 

and  he  weigheth  the  waters  by  measure']  Or,  and  he  meted  out  the 
■waters  by  measure.  The  "waters"  are  the  rains,  v.  26.  The  "winds" 
and  "waters"  are  examples,  taken  to  represent  all,  of  the  agencies  and 
forces  of  creation.  These  were  and  continue  all  M'eighed  and  measured, 
adjusted  and  directed  by  God.  The  second  half  of  the  verse  explains 
the  first.  In  the  first  half  it  is  not  God's  abstract  omniscience  that  is 
referred  to,  but  His  universal  oversight  as  Creator;  and  the  sense  of  the 
whole  verse,  which  supports  the  assertion  that  God  has  Wisdom  {v.  •23), 
is  not  that  God  i/nist  be  in  possession  of  Wisdom  in  order  to  be  Creator, 
which  without  Wisdom  He  could  not  be,  but  rather  that  His  being 
Creator  enables  us  to  understand  how  Wisdom  is  or  comes  to  be  in  His 
possession. 

Wisdom  in  this  passage,  as  in  other  parts  of  Scripture  where  it  is 
spoken  of,  is  properly  the  idea  or  conception  lying  behind  or  under  the 
fixed  order  of  the  universe,  the  world-plan.  This  fixed  order  itself 
with  all  its  phenomena  and  occurrences  is  nothing  but  God  fulfilling 
Himself  ^n  many  ways,  but  these  ways  may  be  reduced  to  one  conception, 
and  this  is  Wisdom,  which  is  thus  conceived  as  a  thing  having  an  objec- 
tive existence  of  its  own.  Naturally  such  an  objective  thing  is  apt  to  ,be 
personified  and  may  be  "seen,"  "established,"  "searched  out"  and  the 
like.  In  the  same  way  the  question  may  be  put,  Where  is  Wisdom 
to  be  found?  and  the  answer  given  that  it  can  be  found  nowhere. 
This  question  and  answer  merely  mean  that  man  cannot  attain  to  m- 
tellectual  apprehension  of  the  idea  of  the  universe,  nor  understand  the 
principle  underlying  the  phenomena  and  events  of  the  world  and  humaa 
life. 

26 — 27.  The  idea  of  the  preceding  verse  taken  up  anew  and  ex- 
panded— in  creation  God  saw  Wisdom  and  searched  it  out. 

26.  a  decree  for  the  rain]  This  "decree"  comprises  all  the  laws  that 
regulate  the  rain,  appointing  its  measure  and  its  seasons  as  early  and 
latter  rain. 

27.  then  did  he  see  it]  then,  i.  e.  when  He  made  a  decree  for  the  rain 
— in  the  act  or  at  the  time  of  creation,  when  He  gave  material  agencies 
their  laws.  Then  He  "saw"  Wisdom,  she  presented  herself  to  His 
view. 

and  declare  //]  The  margin  number  or  count  (ch.  xxxviii.  37)  gives  a 


200  JOB,  XXVIII.  [v.  28. 

He  prepared  it,  yea,  and  searched  it  out. 
28      And  unto  man  he  said,  Behold,  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that 
is  wisdom; 

very  good  sense,  the  meaning  being  that  God  went  over,  enumerated  or 
sttrz'cyed  tlie  parts  and  complex  powers  of  Wisdom.  The  meaning  will 
not  be  greatly  different  if  the  rendering  "declare"  be  retained  and 
taken  in  the  sense  of  jittered.  This  might  be  done  by  pronouncing  the 
name  of  Wisdom,  as  God  presents  before  His  own  mind  the  meaning 
of  any  servant  or  agent  of  His  by  calling  him  by  his  name  (Is.  xliii._  1, 
xlv.  3).  Others  tal<e  "declare"  in  the  sense  that  God  gave  expression 
to  Wisdom  in  the  varied  works  of  creation.  This  is  a  very  unnatural 
sense  in  which  to  take  "declare."  Besides,  of  the  four  expressions 
used,  "saw,"  "declared,"  "established,"  "searched  out,"  the  first  and 
last  refer  exclusively  to  acts  of  the  Divine  mind  and  it  is  improbable 
that  the  middle  terms  should  refer  to  acts  or  operations  of  God's  creative 
hand.  Nor  is  there  allusion  to  any  to  whom  the  declaration  was  made, 
God  alone  being  referred  to  in  the  verse. 

he  prepared  zV]  Or,  established  it.  The  sense  appears  to  be  the 
same  as  in  Prov.  viii.  22  "the  LordT^rwr./ me,"  i.e.  gave  me  existence. 
The  Writer  conceives  W^isdom,  if  not  as  a  person,  at  least  as  something 
that  has  being  or  existence  of  its  own.  According  to  Prov.  viii.  23  seq. 
Wisdom  received  its  existence  prior  to  the  creation  of  the_  world.  In 
the  present  passage  it  is  not  quite  easy  to  say  whether  the  idea  be  that 
Wisdom  received  existence  in  creation  or  before  it,  at  least  it  did  so  in 
connexion  with  creation  ("then").  It  is  unnecessary,  however,  and 
contrary  to  the  Poet's  vivid  conception  of  Wisdom  as  a  real  thing  or 
being,  to  suppose  that  it  was  "established"  when  embodied  inthe 
stable,  permanent  order  of  created  things,  .as  if,  being  merely  an  idea 
before,  with  wavering  outlines,  it  then  became  fixed.  Neither  can  the 
meaning  be  that  God  "set  up"  Wisdom  before  Him  merely  as  an  object 
of  contemplation;  much  less  that  He  set  it  upas  a  "model"  after  which 
to  work  in  creating  the  world,  or  constituted  it  "the  conductor  of 
the  whole  general  order  of  the  world."  These  are  all  addhional  ideas, 
hardly  warranted  by  the  exjiression  employed. 

yea,  and  searched  it  OHt\  The  word  yea  implies  that  this  searching  out 
of  Wisdom  was  something  higher  than  the  preceding  acts.  God  ex- 
plored Wisdom,  He  saw  through  it,  and  brought  before  Himself  the 
full  idea  of  all  that  was  in  its  nature  and  its  powers.  The  word  can 
hardly  mean  He  proved  it,  e.g.  to  see  whether  it  was  suitable  or  able 
for  its  great  function,  the  guidance  of  the  course  of  things  in  the  world. 
This  again  is  an  additional  idea,  which  the  word  does  not  express.^ 

28.  and  unto  /nan  he  said]  This  onliiiance  in  regard  to  man  is  also 
considered  contemporary  with  creation ;  then  God  saw  and  searched 
out  Wisdom,  and  at  the  same  time,  as  suitable  to  man's  place,  He 
ordained  for  him  his  Wisdom,  which  is  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  to 
depart  from  evil. 

The  Wisdom  spoken  of  throughout  the  chapter  is  a  possession^  of 
God  alone,  it  is  His  who  is  Creator;  man  has  a  wisdom  also,  which 


V.  28.]  JOB,   XXVIII.  201 

And  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding. 

is  that  of  the  creature,  to  fear  the  Lord.  There  is  not,  however,  in 
all  the  chapter  the  shadow  of  a  complaint;  there  is  no  turning  of  the 
spirit  against  God  (ch.  xv.  13)  under  the  feeling  that  the  "envious" 
Creator  has  reserved  the  higher  insight  for  Himself,  and  only  bound  on 
mankind  the  heavy  burden  of  "fearing"  Him.  Such  a  thought  is 
wholly  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  passage.  The  speaker  is  calm 
and  reflective  and,  to  all  appearance,  satisfied  that  things  are  as  we  see 
them  because  they  could  not  be  otherwise. 

Wisdom  is  the  idea  or  principle  lying  under  the  order  of  the  Universe, 
the  world  plan.  This  order  of  the  world,  however,  is  not  a  mere 
physical  one,  an  order  of  "nature."  Such  an  idea  as  "nature"  was 
foreign  to  the  Hebrew  mind.  Equally  unknown  was  the  idea  of  a 
mere  physical  constitution  of  things.  The  constitution  of  the  world 
was  moral,  and  hence  the  life  and  destinies  of  men,  no  less  than  the 
phenomena  of  the  world,  were  comprised  under  Wisdom. 

When  it  is  said  that  Wisdom  has  no  place  where  it  can  be  found 
and  can  be  purchased  for  no  price,  the  language  is  based  upon  the 
conception  of  Wisdom  as  an  objective  thing ;  but  the  meaning  is  that 
intellectual  apprehension  of  the  scope  of  the  phenomena  of  the  world 
and  the  events  of  man's  life  is  beyond  the  reach  of  man ;  such  know- 
ledge belongs  only  to  God,  who  made  the  world. 

To  inculcate  this  truth  and  the  other  truth  related  to  it,  that  man's 
wisdom  is  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  is  the  object  of  the  chapter. 

It  seems  an  entire  misapprehension  of  the  meaning  of  the  passage 
when  it  is  regarded  as  teaching  that  "Wisdom,  unlike  earthly  treasures, 
is  nowhere  to  be  found  in  the  visible,  sensible  world";  that  "not  in 
the  world  of  sense,  but  only  from  and  with  God  can  it  be  acquired, 
through  the  fear  of  God."  The  distinctions  introduced  here  are 
modern.  The  passage  teaches  that  Wisdom  cannot  be  found  either 
in  the  visible  or  the  invisible  world  [v.  22),  neither  by  man  nor  by 
any  creature  {v.  ?[).  It  is  a  thing  possible  to  God  alone;  and  man  does 
not  attain  to  it  through  the  fear  of  the  Lord,- — the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  substitute  ordained  for  man  instead  of  it ;  for  as  the  absolute 
Wisdom  belongs  to  the  Creator,  so  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  wisdom 
that  befits  the  creature. 

The  connexion  between  chapters  xxvii.  and  xxviii.  is  difficult  to 
perceive.  Very  many  suggestions  have  been  offered,  of  which  two  may 
be  noticed. 

Chap,  xxvii.  ends  with  a  dark  picture  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked  at 
"the  hand  of  God,"  and  ch.  xxviii.  begins,  ^^for  there  is  a  vein  for  the 
silver. ..but  where  shall  Wisdom  be  found?"  As  Job  in  ch.  xxvii.  is 
understood  to  be  modifying  his  former  statements  he  is  supposed  by 
some  to  speak  thus  :  "I  concede  that  such  (ch.  xxvii.  13 — 23)  is  the 
fate  of  the  wicked  [but  all  riddles  of  Providence  are  not  thereby  solved, 
for  example  the  afflictions  of  just  men  like  myself,  nor  can  they  be 
solved]  for,  though  men  may  attain  to  much  by  their  skill  and  insight, 
Wisdom  is  beyond  them."     This  makes  the  whole  of  ch,  xxviii.,  intra- 


JOB,   XXVIII.  XXIX. 


duced  hy  for,  the  support  of  a  thought  which  is  not  expressed  nor  even 
hinted  at,  but  merely  interpolated  from  the  mind  of  the  commentator. 

Others,  assuming  Job  to  be  the  speaker,  connect  thus  :  "such 
(ch.  xxvii.  13 — 23)  is  the  disastrous  fate  of  the  wicked  [and  it  must  be 
so]  for  Wisdom  [which  is  the  way  to  prosperity  in  life]  can  be  reached 
only  through  the  fear  of  the  Lord  [which  such  men  have  rejected"]. 
Apart  from  the  strong  interpolations  needful  to  help  out  the  thought, 
the  extraordinary  circumlocution,  in  the  shape  of  the  long  disquisition 
on  Wisdom,  which  the  speaker  is  supposed  to  em.ploy  in  order  to  ex- 
press his  idea,  marks  this  attempt  to  construct  a  bridge  between  the  two 
chapters  as  desperate.  Besides,  if  the  remarks  made  above  in  regard 
to  the  general  meaning  of  ch.  xxviii.  have  any  worth,  the  attempt  is 
based  upon  a  reading  of  the  sense  of  that  chapter  which  is  entirely 
wrong. 

See  further  on  these  two  chapters  in  the  Introduction. 

Ch.  XXIX XXXI.     Job's  final  survey  of  his  whole  cir- 
cumstances AND  CAUSE. 

The  passage  falls  into  three  parts,  corresponding  to  the  separate 
chapters  : 

First,  ch.  xxix.,  a  sorrowful  and  regretful  retrospect  of  his  past  hap- 
piness. 

Second,  ch.  xxx.,  a  contrasted  picture  of  his  present  abject  condition. 

Third,  ch.  xxxi.,  a  solemn  repudiation  of  all  offences  that  might 
account  for  such  a  change,  and  a  new  entreaty  that  God  would  reveal 
to  him  the  cause  of  his  afflictions. 

Ch.    XXIX.       A   PATHETIC   PICTURE   OF  JOB'S   FORMER  PROSPERITY 
AND    RESl'ECT. 

The  passage  has  these  parts : 

First,  vv.  2 — 10,  a  sorrowful  review  of  the  happhiess  of  former  days, 
in  which  the  things  that  made  up  this  happiness,  now  departed,  are 
enumerated:  (i)  God's  keeping  of  him  (v.  1),  His  light  upon  his  path 
(v.  3),  and  His  intimacy  and  protection  over  his  tent  {v.  4) ;  {2)  the 
presence  of  his  children  about  him  (v.  5) ;  (3)  the  prosperity,  almost 
more  than  natural,  that  flowed  in  upon  him  in  ways  unsought  {v.  6)  ; 
and  (4)  above  all  the  respect  and  reverence  paid  him  by  his  fellow 
citizens,  as  he  sat  in  their  council  and  went  among  them  {vv.  7 — 10). 
This  last  is  the  great  thought  that  fills  the  chapter  and  forms  the  con- 
trast to  the  wretchedness  and  the  contempt  from  the  meanest  of  man- 
kind which  he  now  endures  (ch.  xxx. ). 

Second,  vv.  11  — 17,  the  reason  of  this  universal  reverence  of  men  for 
him — his  benevolence  and  impartial  justice. 

Third,  vv.  iS— 20,  an  almost  involuntary  reference  to  his  calm  and 
sure  outlook  into  the  future  amitlst  this  universal  respect. 

Fourth,  vv.  1 1 — 25,  after  which  the  great  thought  of  the  passage,  his 
high  place  among  men  and  the  delight  which  his  benevolent  inter- 
course with  them  was  to  him,  again  rushes  into  his  mind. 


vv.  1—7.]  JOB,   XXIX.  203 

Moreover  Job  continued  his  parable,  and  said,  29 

O  that  1  were  as  in  months  past,  2 

As  m  the  days  when  God  preserved  me; 
When  his  candle  shined  upon  my  head,  3 

And  when  by  his  light  I  walked  through  darkness; 
As  I  was  in  the  days  of  my  youth,  4 

When  the  secret  of  God  luas  upon  my  tabernacle; 
When  the  Almighty  luas  yet  with  me,  s 

When  my  children  were  about  me; 

When  /  washed  my  steps  with  butter,  6 

And  the  rock  poured  me  out  rivers  of  oil; 
When  I  went  out  to  the  gate  through  the  city,  7 

2.  Job  begins  with  a  patbetic  expression  of  regret  as  he  remembers 
happier  times.  His  former  happiness  was  due  to  God's  preserving  or 
watching  over  him,  and  the  loss  of  it  was  due  to  God's  forsaking  him. 

3.  This  verse  expands  "preserved"  or  "watched  over"  in  v.  2. 

his  cajidle  shined  upon']  Or,  Ms  lamp  sMned  over.  God's  lamp  shone 
above  him,  and  liglited  his  path,  so  that  the  darl-cness  before  him  was 
made  to  be  light,  Is.  xlii.  i6.  God's  "lamp"  is  a  figure  for  His  favour 
and  enlightenment  and  prospering  of  him. 

4.  days  of  my  youth]  lit.  days  of  my  aiUiimn.  It  is  doubtful  if  Job 
means  to  describe  by  this  expression  any  period  of  his  own  age,  namely 
his  manhood.  He  rather  compares  his  former  time  of  prosperity  to  the 
season  of  the  year,  the  autumn,  the  time  of  fruit-gathering  and  plenty 
and  joy,  and  also  thankfulness  to  God  (clause  second). 

the  secret  of  God]  i.e.  the  intimacy  and  friendship  of  God  ;  comp.  on 
ch.  xix.  19.     God's  friendship  or  intimacy  watched  over  his  tent. 

5.  Naturally  the  first  element  in  Job's  happiness  in  those  past  days 
was  the  presence  of  his  children. 

6.  The  second,  though  a  less,  element  of  his  happiness  was  his 
overflowing  abundance. 

7ahen  I  zvashed  my  steps]  Or,  when  my  steps  were  washed  in  butter, 
i.  e.  bathed — a  figure  for  the  overflowing  abundance  amidst  which  he 
walked. 

the  rock  poured  me  out]  As  marg.,  poured  out  with  vie  or  beside  vie. 
The  unfruitful  rock  poured  out  rivers  of  oil  beside  him  ;  his  blessings 
were  so  abundant  that  they  came  unsought  and  seemed  above  nature. 

7.  The  third  and  chiefest  element  of  his  past  happiness  was  the 
respect  of  men,  and  the  joy  of  intercourse  with  them.  This  is  the  main 
subject  of  the  chapter. 

the  gate  through  the  city]  Or,  the  gate  by  the  city.  Job,  a  rich  land- 
owner, probably  did  not  live  in  the  city  but  on  his  estate  that  adjoined 
it.  He  took  part,  however,  in  all  the  life  of  the  city,  and  sat  in  the 
council  that  guided  its  affairs.  The  "gate"  is  spoken  of  as  the  place 
where  the  Council  or  Assembly  of  the  town  met.     Such  a  "gate"  is 


204  JOB.   XXIX.  [vv.  8—14. 

]]'Iic?i  I  prepared  my  seat  in  the  street; 

The  young  men  saw  me,  and  hid  themselves: 

And  the  aged  arose,  and  stood  ///. 
,      The  princes  refrained  talking, 

And  laid  t/ieir  hand  on  their  mouth. 
,      The  nobles  held  their  peace. 

And  their  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  their  mouth. 

1  When  the  ear  heard  7ne,  then  it  blessed  me; 
And  when  the  eye  saw  w^,  it  gave  witness  to  me : 

2  Because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried, 

And  the  fatherless,  and  /li/n  that  had  none  to  help  him. 

3  The  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon 

me: 
And  I  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy. 

4  I  put  on  righteousness,  and  it  clothed  me: 

usually  a  building  of  considerable  size,  like  an  arcade,  and  hence  it  is 
spoken  of  here  as  an  independent  edilice  by  or  beside  tlie  city.  Others 
render  tip  to  the  city,  supposing  that  the  city,  as  not  unusual,  was  built 
on  an  eminence. 

in  the  street^  \\t.  broad  place,  i.e.  market  place,  a  synonym  for  "gate." 

8.  hid  themselves']  The  young  men  withdrew  out  of  reverence,  not 
knowing  perhaps  how  to  meet  and  rightly  salute  one  so  great  as  Job 
was. 

arose,  and  stood  up]  The  aged  are  supposed  already  met  in  the  gate 
and  seated;  on  Job's  approach  they  rise  and  remain  standing  till  he  has 
sat  down. 

9,  10.  The  meaning  seems  to  be  that  Job's  arrival  put  a  stop  to 
speech  and  discussion  already  going  on,  which  was  not  resumed  until 
he  should  be  heard. 

H — 17.  The  ground  of  this  universal  reverence — ^Job's  benevolent 
care  of  the  poor  and  his  strict  justice  to  their  cause. 

11.  This  verse  may  read. 

For  the  ear  that  heard  of  me  blessed  me, 
And  the  eye  that  saw  me  gave  witness  to  me. 
Those  who  had  only  heard  of  him  by  report  "blessed"  him,  that  is, 
"called  him  happy,"  as  one  whom  blessing  and  prosperity  must  follow 
because  of  his  benevolence  and  mercy  to  the  needy;  and  they  who  saw 
him  as  he  lived  among  men  bore  testimony  to  his  goodness — as  z/.  12 
indicates. 

12.  and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him]  Perhaps,  the  fatherless,  that 
had  none  to  help  him,  only  two  classes  being  referred  to,  the  "poor" 
and  the  "fatherless." 

14.  and  it  clothed  me]  Rather,  and  it  clothed  Itself  in  me.  Job 
clothed  himself  with  righteousness,  so  that  as  a  man  he  was  lost  in  the 


vv.  IS— 19.]  JOB,   XXIX.  205 

My  judgment  7i'as  as  a  robe  and  a  diadem. 

I  was  eyes  to  the  blind,  i 

And  feet  teas  I  to  the  lame. 

I  was  a  father  to  the  poor:  i 

And  the  cause  zdhich  I  knew  not  I  searched  out. 

And  I  brake  the  jaws  of  the  wicked,  i 

And  pluckt  the  spoil  out  of  his  teeth. 

Then  I  said,  I  shall  die  in  my  nest,  i 

And  I  shall  multiply  my  days  as  the  sand. 

My  root  was  spread  out  by  the  waters,  i 

And  the  dew  lay  all  night  upon  my  branch. 

justice  that  clothed  him ;  and  justice  clothed  itself  in  him— he  on  the 
other  hand  was  justice  become  a  person. 

15.  The  blind  he  enabled  to  see  that  which  of  themselves  they  could 
not  perceive ;  the  lame  he  enabled  to  attain  to  that  which  of  themselves 
they  were  unable  to  reach. 

16.  the  cause  which  I  knnv  not]  Rather,  the  cause  of  him  whom  I 
Imew  not.  Not  merely  the  poor  about  him,  to  whom  he  might  feel 
that  he  owed  help,  but  even  strangers  who  had  a  cause  that  needed  un- 
ravelling he  aided  by  his  wisdom  and  justice. 

17.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  beast  of  prey,  who  has  its  booty  already 
in  its  teeth.  The  verse  carries  on  v.  16  ;  even  when  the  unjust  oppressor 
seemed  already  to  have  triumphed  and  carried  off  his  prey,  it  was  torn 
from  his  jaws. 

18—20.  Job's  outlook  on  the  future,  amidst  this  benevolent  and 
active  life.     He  anticipated  length  of  days  and  continued  prosperity. 

18.  in  Diy  nest]  i.  e.  surrounded  by  those  belonging  to  him ;  he  should 
die  before  them,  not  they  before  him,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  possessions. 

my  days  as  the  sand]  Sand  is  the  usual  rendering  of  the  word_  oc- 
curring here — an  image  of  countless  number.  Most  modern  writers 
translate  as  the  Fhwnix,  in  accordance  with  Jewish  tradition.  The 
Sept.  renders  as  the  branch  of  the  palm  (<poiviKos).  The  Heb.  word 
however  can  hardly  have  been  translated  /aim,  a  meaning  which  does 
not  belong  to  it,  and  the  present  Sept.  text  may  have  arisen  from  a 
misunderstanding  of  its  original  reading,  /ihe  the  Fhcenix.  _  The  word 
"nest"  in  the  first  clause  favours  this  translation.  This  bird  was 
fabled  to  live  500  years,  and  to  consume  himself  and  his  nest  with  fire, 
only  to  arise  anew  to  life  out  of  the  ashes.  Hence  the  name  became  a 
proverb,  expressing  the  highest  duration  of  life,  (polvLKos  ^tt)  §lovv,  to 
live  as  long  as  the  Phoenix.  The  fable  being  current  in  Egypt  the 
author  of  the  Book  might  readily  become  acquainted  with  it. 

19.  20.  These  verses  continue  the  description  of  Job's  outlook  into 
the  future  in  those  happy  days.     They  read  better  thus, 

19.     My  root  shall  be  spread  out  to  the  waters, 

And  the  dew  shall  lie  all  night  upon  my  branch; 


co6  JOB,   XXIX.  [vv.  20—25. 

My  glory  7i'as  fresh  in  me, 

And  my  bow  was  renewed  in  my  hand. 

Unto  me  jnen  gave  ear,  and  waited, 

And  kept  silence  at  my  counsel. 

After  my  words  they  spake  not  again; 

And  my  speech  dropped  upon  them. 

And  they  waited  for  me  as  for  the  rain; 

And  they  opened  their  mouth  wide  as  for  the  latter  rain. 

Jfl  laughed  on  them,  they  believed  //  not; 

And  the  light  of  my  countenance  they  cast  not  down. 

I  chose  out  their  way,  and  sat  chief, 

And  dwelt  as  a  king  in  the  army. 

As  one  that  comforteth  the  mourners. 


10,     My  glory  shall  be  fresh  in  me, 

And  my  bow  shall  be  renewed  in  my  hand. 

19.  Comp.  the  image,  ch.  xiv.  8,  9.  The  dew  lying  all  night  upon 
his  branch  would  keep  it  fresh  and  green. 

20.  His  "gloiy,"  i.e.  high  respect  and  rank,  would  continue  "fresh," 
lit.  neiv,  never  be  tarnished  or  diminished.  His  do-M,  symbol  of  strength 
and  power,  would  like  a  tree  renew  its  freshness  and  suppleness  in  his 
hand. 

21 — 25.  Return  to  the  main  thought  of  the  passage,  his  place  among 
men,  his  brothers. 

22.  d)-opped  7ipo>i  thent]  i.e.  like  a  refreshing,  quickening  rain,  when 
they  were  wearied  and  perplexed  in  counsel. 

24.  The  verse  means  rather, 

I  laughed  on  them,  when  they  had  no  confidence, 
And  the  light  of  my  countenance  they  cast  not  down. 

Job,  with  his  broader  insight  and  more  capable  counsel,  smiled  on 
those  who  were  perplexed  and  despondent  ;  what  seemed  insurmount- 
able difficulty  or  threatened  disaster  to  them,  seemed  to  him  a  thing 
easy  to  overcome  and  nothing  to  create  alarm  ;  while  on  the  other  hand 
the  despondency  of  others  was  never  able  to  cloud  the  cheerfulness 
of  his  countenance,  so  full  was  his  mind  of  resource. 

25.  A  concluding  picture  of  the  joy  which  he  had  in  the  fellowship 
of  men,  and  how  they  recognised  his  worth  and  set  him  as  a  king 
among  them,  and  yet  how  he  with  his  high  advantages  and  great  wealth 
felt  towards  them,  being  among  ihcm  as  one  that  comforteth  the 
mourning. 

/  c/iose  out  their  Tcay]  The  words  probably  mean  that  Job  "chose" 
the  way  that  led  to  the  society  of  men,  he  gladly  sought  intercourse 
with  them,  and  delighted  himself  in  their  fellowship.  The  other  sense, 
I  chose  out  the  way  for  them  to  go,  is  less  natural. 


1—3.1  JOB,   XXX^ 2C7 

But  now  they  that  are  younger  than  I  have  me  in  derision,  30 

Whose  fathers  I  would  have  disdained 

To  have  set  with  the  dogs  of  my  flock. 

Yea,  whereto  viight  the  strength  of  their  hands  profit  me,    2 

In  whom  old  age  was  perished  ? 

For  want  and  famine  they  were  solitary;  3 

Flying  into  the  wilderness 

In  former  time  desolate  and  waste. 


Ch.  XXX.    The  contrasted  picture  of  Job's  present  abject 

CONDITION. 

The  chapter  forms  a  contrast  to  ch.  xxix. ;  and  as  in  that  picture 
of  Job's  past  felicity  the  brightest  part  was  the  high  respect  he  enjoj'ed 
among  men,  sitting  a  prince  in  the  midst  of  them,  so  in  this  the  darkest 
part  is  the  contumely  and  indignity  he  now  suffers  from  the  basest  and 
most  abject  of  mankind.  Ch.  xxix.  ended  with  a  reference  to  his  former 
high  place  among  men,  and  the  present  chapter  starts  with  the  antithesis 
to  this,  the  contempt  in  which  the  base-born  races  now  hold  him.  The 
subjects  touched  upon  in  the  chapter  are  the  same  as  those  in  ch.  xxix,, 
though  they  are  pursued  in  the  reverse  order. 

First,  vv.  I — 8,  a  picture  of  the  base  and  miserable  race  of  men  who 
now  hold  him  in  contempt. 

Second,  vv.  9 — 15,  description  of  the  indignities  to  which  he  is 
subjected  at  their  hands. 

Third,  vi>.  16 — 23,  account  of  the  condition  to  which  he  is  reduced ; 
his  despondency  of  mind,  his  gnawing  pains,  and  the  terrible  severity 
of  God  under  which  he  suffers. 

Fourth,  vv.  24 — 31,  a  final  contrast  between  his  present  unpitied, 
joyless  condition  and  former  days,  when  he  himself  was  full  of  compassion 
for  them  in  trouble  and  when  his  life  was  filled  with  music  and 
gladness. 

1.  yotingcr  than  /]  Comp.  what  was  said  of  the  demeanour  of 
the  youths  in  former  days,  ch.  xxx.  8. 

luotdd  have  disdained  to  have  set\  Or,  I  disdained  to  set. 

2.  The  verse  refers  to  the  fathers  [v.  i),  and  gives  the  reason  why 
Job  did  not  employ  them,  or  consider  them  worthy  of  a  treatment  equal 
to  that  of  his  dogs — they  were  enfeebled  and  fallen  into  premature 
decay.  Yet  the  children  of  these  miserable  people  now  have  him 
in  derision.  In  the  East  the  "dogs  of  the  flock  "  have  only  one  use, 
viz.  to  guard  the  flock  and  the  encampment  from  attacks  by  night. 

3 — 8.  Description  of  this  wretched  class  of  outcasts.  The  tenses 
should  all  be  put  in  the  present.  The  race  of  people  referred  to  appears 
to  be  the  same  as  that  in  ch.  xxiv. 

3.  The  verse  reads, 

With  want  and  hunger  they  are  gaunt, 

They  gnaw  the  desert,  in  former  time  desolate  and  waste. 


2o8  JOB,  XXX.  [vv.  4— lo. 

Who  cut  up  mallows  by  the  bushes, 

And  juniper  \oois  for  their  meat. 

They  were  driven  forth  from  among  men, 

(They  cried  after  them  as  after  a  thief;) 

To  dwell  in  the  clifts  of  the  valleys, 

Iti  caves  of  the  earth,  and  in  the  rocks. 

Among  the  bushes  they  brayed; 

Under  the  nettles  they  were  gathered  together. 

They  were  children  of  fools,  yea,  children  of  base  men: 

They  were  viler  than  the  earth. 

And  now  am  I  their  song. 

Yea,  I  am  their  byword. 

They  abhor  me,  they  flee  far  from  me, 

And  spare  not  to  spit  in  my  face. 

The  first  clause  refers  to  the  "shrivelled"  appearance  of  these  out- 
casts from  want ;  the  second  to  their  devouring  the  roots  which  they 
can  gather  in  the  steppe  [v.  4),  which  has  for  long  been  desolate  and 
unproductive.  The  word  rendered  "  they  gnaw  "  occurs  again  of  Job's 
gnawing  pains,  v.  17.  For  "in  former  lime,"  i.e.  for  long;  others 
translate  darkness :  the  darkness  of  desolation  and  waste — a  description 
of  the  desert. 

4.     by  the  bushes']  i.e.  beside  or  among  the  bushes.     The  "  mallows  " 
or  "salt-wort"  which  they  pluck  as  food  is  found  among  the  bushes, 
which  cover  it  from  the  heat  and  drought,  and  under  the  shadow  of 
which  it  thrives. 
juniper  roots']  Or,  roots  of  the  broom. 

5 — 6.     Such  creatures  when  they  approach  civilized  dwellings  are 
driven  forth  and  pursued  with  cries  as  men  do  a  thief. 
They  are  driven  forth  from  among  men, 
They  cry  after  them  as  after  a  thief, 
And  they  must  dwell  in  the  clefts  of  the  valleys,  <S:c. 
The  word  "cliffs"  in  the  ordinary  texts  here  is  either  a  misprint  for 
"  clifts  "  or  clefts,  or  is  used  in  that  sense. 

7.  ihey  brayed]  Rather,  they  bray. 

were  gathered]  Better,  axe  gathered,  or  perhaps  rather,  streteh  them- 
selves, i.e.  fling  themselves  down.  Their  cries  are  like  those  of  the 
wild  ass  seeking  for  food  (ch.  vi.  5),  and  they  throw  themselves  down 
like  wild  beasts  under  the  bushes  in  the  desert. 

8.  The  verse  reads  in  close  connexion  with  v.  7, 

Children  of  fools,  yea  children  of  base  men, 

They  are  scourged  out  of  the  land. 
Children   of   "base  men,"  lit.    of  no  name,  i.e.  base  born,  they  are 
beaten  or  "  crushed  "  out  of  the  land. 

9 — 10.     Job's  treatment  now  at  the  hands  of  these  outcasts. 


vv.  II— 13.]  JOB,   XXX.  209 

Because  he  hath  loosed  my  cord,  and  afflicted  me, 

They  have  also  let  loose  the  bridle  before  me. 

Upon  my  right  hand  rise  the  youth; 

They  push  away  my  feet, 

And  they  raise  up  against  me  the  ways  of  their  destruction. 

They  mar  my  path, 

With  "  spit  in  my  face  "  comp.  cli.  xvii.  6.  In  ch.  xxiv.  Job  referred 
to  this  miserable  race  with  compassion ;  they  had  often  no  doubt 
excited  his  pity,  and  he  saw  in  their  lot  and  in  the  injustice  and  cruelties 
which  they  suffered  at  the  hands  of  more  prosperous  men  a  strange 
mystery  of  providence.  Now  he  speaks  of  their  conduct  to  himself 
with  resentment ;  for  it  was  no  requital  of  any  injury  he  had  ever  done 
them.  Yet  though  they  might  mistake  Job's  individual  feeling  to 
them,  he  was  one  of  the  class  that  had  robbed  them  and  that  continued 
the  robbery  and  oppression,  and  they  avenged  their  wrongs  on  him 
with  a  malicious  delight  in  the  calamities  that  had  overtaken  him. 

11 — 14.  Further  description  of  the  outrageous  insults  of  these  base 
outcasts. 

11.  V.  ir  is  very  variously  understood  ;  it  may  mean, 

For  they  have  loosed  their  rein  and  humbled  me. 

They  have  cast  off  the  bridle  before  me. 
So  taken,  the  two  clauses  have  much  the  same  meaning,  each  being  a 
figurative  manner  of  saying  that  the  low  rabble  have  cast  off  all  restraint, 
and  subject  the  sufferer  to  painful  humiliations.  The  verb  in  the  first 
clause  \%  sitig.,  but  may  distribute  to  each  the  conduct  of  the  whole. 
Others,  however,  make  the  subject  to  be  God,  rendering :  Because 
he  has  loosed  his  rein  and  humbled  me,  they  also  have  cast  off  the 
bridle  before  me  (A.  V.).  There  is  nothing,  however,  to  indicate  such 
an  antithesis  between  two  different  subjects  m  the  two  clauses.  Another 
reading  gives  7>iy  rein  or  cord  (A.  V.),  but  no  help  comes  from  adopting 
this. 

12.  This  verse  reads, 

Upon  the  right  hand  riseth  up  a  (low)  brood. 

They  push  away  my  feet. 

And  they  cast  up  against  me  their  ways  of  destruction. 
By  "pushing  away"  his  feet,  appears  to  be  meant  thrusting  him  away 
from  place  to  place.  The  last  clause  refers  to  the  practice  of  besiegers 
casting  up  a  "mount"  or  raised  way  on  which  to  approach  the  be- 
leaguered town  and  carry  destruction  to  it;  such  " mounts "  are  here 
called  "their  ways  of  destruction." 

13.  They  mar  my  path\  Or,  tliey  break  up  my  path.  The  reference 
can  hardly  be  to  the  path  or  way  leading  to  the  besieged  place  (z'.  12), 
so  that  the  approach  of  succour  is  cut  off;  if  the  figure  be  continued  the 
path  must  rather  be  the  way  of  escape.  Perhaps  the  figure  is  departed 
from  in  this  clause,  and  the  words  may  be  taken  more  generally  as 
meaning  the  path  of  his  life,  which  they  make  it  impossible  to  go  in. 

JOB  14 


2IO  JOB,   XXX.  [vv.  14—17. 

They  set  forward  my  calamity, 

They  have  no  helper. 

They  came  2tpon  me  as  a  wide  breaking  in  of  waters: 

In  the  desolation  they  rolled  themselves  upon  me 

Terrors  are  turned  upon  me : 

They  pursue  my  soul  as  the  wind : 

And  my  welfare  passeth  away  as  a  cloud. 

And  now  my  soul  is  poured  out  upon  me; 

The  days  of  affliction  have  taken  hold  upon  me. 

My  bones  are  pierced  in  me  in  the  night  season: 

And  my  sinews  take  no  rest. 

set  fonvard  my  calamity']  i.e.  help  on  my  downfall — aggravate  my 
aftlictions  and  advance  the  issue  of  them. 

they  have  no  hclperl  Or,  they  wlio  have  no  helper.  The  phrase  "to 
have  no  helper  "  means  to  be  one  shunned  and  despised  of  all.  Yet 
such  persons  now  persecute  him  with  injurious  insult.  The  words  are 
an  involuntary  exclamation.  The  phrase  might  mean :  against  -whom 
there  is  no  helper  ;  i.e.  none  to  rescue  Job  from  them,  or  to  interfere  in 
his  behalf  against  them. 

14.  The  verse  reads, 

They  come  in  as  through  a  wide  breach, 
Amidst  the  crash  they  roll  themselves  upon  me. 

The  figure  is  that  of  a  stormed  fastness.     The  "crash"  is  that  of  the 

falling  walls. 

15.  Terrors  are  turned  against  me, 

They  chase  away  my  honour  like  the  wind  ; 

And  my  welfare  is  passed  away  as  a  cloud. 
He  is  assailed  by  terrors.  The  words  "like  the  wind"  mean,  like  as 
the  wind  chases  away  (the  chaff,  &c.).  On  the  figure  of  the  dissolving 
cloud  comp.  vii.  9.  The  expression  "terrors"  indicates  that,  though 
Job  is  here  speaking  of  his  injurious  treatment  at  the  hands  of  this 
rabble,  it  is  not  merely  the  external  ignominy  that  fdls  his  mind ;  it  is 
the  deeper  moral  problem  which  such  abasement  raises.  Such  ex- 
pressions, however,  have  suggested  to  several  writers  that  what  Job 
describes  in  vv.  11 — 15  is  not  the  outrageous  insults  of  the  base-born 
outcasts  referred  to  in  vv.  i  — 10,  but  his  afflictions,  under  the  figure  of 
an  assailing  army  sent  against  him  from  Goil,  comp.  ch.  xvi.  12 — 14, 
xix.  12,  The  passage  is  difficult,  but  upon  the  whole  this  view  is  less 
natural. 

16.  The  condition  of  despondency  to  which  Job  was  reduced. 

17.  His  tormenting  pains. 

In  the  night  season  my  bones  are  pierced  (and  fall)  off  from  me, 
And  my  gnawing  pains  take  no  rest. 
The  first  clause  refers  to  his  tormenting  pains,  severest  in  the  night, 


vv.  18—23.]  JOB,   XXX.  211 

By  the  great  force  of  my  disease  is  my  garment  changed:    i3 

It  bindeth  me  about  as  the  collar  of  my  coat. 

He  hath  cast  me  into  the  mire,  19 

And  I  am  become  like  dust  and  ashes. 

I  cry  unto  thee,  and  thou  dost  not  hear  mc:  20 

I  stand  up,  and  thou  regardest  me  not. 

Thou  art  become  cruel  to  me:  21 

With  thy  strong  hand  thou  opposest  thyself  against  me. 

Thou  liftest  me  up  to  the  wind ;  thou  causest  me  to  ride  22 

vpon  it, 
And  dissolvest  my  substance. 

For  I  know  that  thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death,  23 

And  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  living. 

under  which  his  bones  seem  pierced  and  his  limbs  to  be  wrenched 
from  him.     "  My  gnawing  pains"  is  lit.  my  gnawers. 

18.  The  verse  is  obscure. 

the  great  force  of  my  discasel  Or,  toy  his  great  power;  i.e.  God's 
power,  put  forth  in  Job's  afflictions. 

my  garment  changed\  lit.  disguised  or  disfigured. 

it  bindeth  Pie]  The  meaning  may  be :  it  cliiigeth  to  vie  like  the  neck 
of  my  inner  garment.  Tiie  reference  is  supposed  to  be  to  his  emaciated 
condition  ;  his  outer  garment  hangs  on  him  disfigured,  clinging  to  him 
like  the  neck  or  opening  of  the  close-fitting  inner  tunic.  The  connexion 
and  the  phrase  "by  His  great  power,"  i.e.  the  power  that  causes  in- 
tolerable agonies,  might  suggest  that  the  reference  in  the  verse  is  to  Job's 
writhing  under  his  pains  till  the  clothes  are  twisted  tightly  about 
him. 

19 — 23.     God's  great  severity. 

19.  The  verse  probably  refers  to  the  appearance  which  Job's  body 
presented  in  its  leprous  condition;  this  was  due  to  God,  who  is  repre- 
sented as  causing  it  by  plunging  Job  as  it  were  into  the  mire. 

20.  This  verse  reads, 

I  cry  unto  thee  and  thou  dost  not  hear  mc, 
I  stand  up,  and  thou  lookest  at  me. 

The  second  clause  describes  Job's  importunity  in  his  appeal,  but  the 
only  reply  is  that  God  "looketh"  at  him,  i.e.  with  silent  indifference, 
or  in  stern  severity. 

22.  dissolvest  my  substance]  Rather,  dissolvest  me  in  the  tempest; 
lit.  in  the  roar  of  the  storm.  He  is  carried  away  and  dissolved  or 
dissipated,  that  is,  destroyed  in  the  whirlwind. 

23.  This  verse  explains  v.  it  and  supports  it.  Job  knows  that  his 
afflictions  can  end  in  nothing  but  his  death. 

house  appointed  for]  Or,  house  of  meeting  for  all  living,  i.e.  the 
grave,  or  Sheol,  the  place  of  the  dead. 

14-2 


212  JOB,  XXX.  [vv.  24—29. 

14      Howbcit    he    ^vill    not    stretch    out    Jiis    hand    to    the 
grave, 

Though  they  cry  in  liis  destruction. 
2s      Did  not  I  weep  for  him  that  was  in  trouble  ? 

Was  7iot  my  soul  grieved  for  the  poor? 
z6      When  I  looked  for  good,  then  evil  came  unto  me: 

And  when  I  waited  for  light,  there  came  darkness. 

27  My  bowels  boiled,  and  rested  not : 
The  days  of  aftliction  prevented  me. 

28  I  went  mourning  without  the  sun : 

I  stood  up,  and  I  cried  in  the  congregation. 

29  I  am  a  brother  to  dragons, 

24.  This  obscure  verse  may  mean. 

Yet  doth  not  one  stretch  out  the  hand  in  his  fall? 

When  he  is  destroyed  doth  he  not  because  of  this  utter  a  cry  ? 
The  word  fall  is  lit.  heap,  i.  e.  ruin.  The  verse,  so  interpreted  means, 
Does  not  one  stretch  out  his  hand  for  helji  in  his  downfall?  does  he 
not  when  being  destroyed,  or,  in  his  misfortune,  utter  a  C17?  Job 
explains  how  in  his  misery  he  cries  unto  God,  it  is  the  instinct  of 
mankind.  The  following  verse,  referring  to  Job's  compassion  when  he 
saw  others  in  trouble,  suggests  that  he  naturally  looked  for  the  same 
compassion  to  himself.  The  word  cry  (second  clause),  if  referred  to  a 
different  root,  might  mean  riches  (so  ch.  xxxvi.  19),  and  the  verse  would 
mean,  surely  one  stretches  not  out  his  hand  ai^ainst  a  heap  (of  ruins),  or, 
hath  he  riches  from  another'' s  (lit.  his,  or  its)  destruction?  Job  cha- 
racterizes himself  as  a  heap  of  ruins,  and,  appealing  to  the  Almighty, 
argues  that  against  such  a  thing  one  does  not  stretch  out  a  hostile 
hand ;  neither  does  one  derive  advantage  to  himself  from  another's 
calamity.  This  sense  fits  into  v.  25  very  well — Job,  so  far  from  in- 
creasing misfortune  which  he  saw,  commiserated  and  helped  it. 

25.  The  compassion  which  Job  seeks  in  his  affliction  it  was  his 
practice  and  nature  to  bestow. 

26.  This  being  his  feeling  towards  those  in  trouble  he  looked  that 
his  own  prosperity  would  continue ;  his  aftlictions  were  unexpected. 

27 — 30.  Further  details  of  his  sufferings  in  his  time  of  affliction. 
The  tenses  should  be  put  in  the  present. 

27.  My  bowels  boiled]  Rather,  boil. 

prevented  pie]  i.e.  are  co»ie  before  me,  have  overtaken  me.  The 
bowels  are  the  seat  of  feeling;  and  the  words  "my  bowels  boil"  de- 
scribe the  tumult  of  feelings,  griefs,  regrets  and  pains,  that  worked 
within  him. 

28.  /  lucnt  mourning]  Better  perhaps,  I  go  blackened,  not  by  the 
Bun.  The  reference  is  to  his  ajipearance  from  his  tlisease  :  he  is  black, 
but  his  blackness  is  not  due  to  the  sun,  comp.  Song  i.  6. 

29.  The  verse  expands  the  words  "I  cry"  in  v.  28, 


vv.  30,  31  ;  I.]  JOB,  XXX.    XXXI.  213 

And  a  companion  to  owls. 

My  skin  is  black  upon  me,  30 

And  my  bones  are  burnt  with  heat. 

My  harp  also  is  turned  to  mourning,  31 

And  my  organ  into  the  voice  of  them  that  weep. 

I  made  a  covenant  with  mine  eyes;  31 

I  am  a  brother  to  the  jackals, 

And  a  companion  to  the  ostriches. 
The  mournful  howl  of  the  jackals  is  elsewhere  referred  to,  Mic.  i.  8; 
the  ostrich  also  sends  forth  a  weird,  melancholy  cry,   particularly  by 
night;  hence  in  oh.  xxxi.x.  13  the  female  ostrich  receives  the  name  of 
"wailer." 

30.  is  black  iipoii  me\  Or,  is  black  and  isXls  frotn  inc.  The  "heat" 
in  his  bones  refers  to  his  burning  pains. 

31.  The  joyous  music  of  his  former  life  is  turned  into  wailing.  The 
"organ"  is  ihepij>c,  ch.  xxi.  12;  comp.  Lam.  v.  15. 

Ch.  XXXI.    Job  solemnly  clears  himself  of  all  offences. 

The  chapter  consists  of  a  series  of  protestations  on  the  one  hand,  ac- 
companied on  the  other  by  curses  on  himself  if  these  protestations  of 
innocence  are  not  true.  Occasionally  appeals  are  made  to  God  to  judge 
him ;  and  in  some  instances  the  considerations  are  stated  which  weighed 
with  him  and  restrained  him  from  the  sins  of  which  he  protests  his  inno- 
cence. In  Job's  present  condition,  when  he  now  speaks,  some  of  these 
imprecations  appear  unsuitable.  But  we  must  consider  that  as  he  is 
reviewing  his  past  life,  his  mind  throws  him  back  into  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  was  then  living,  and  this  brings  before  him  the  considerations 
and  feelings  which  then  weighed  with  him. 

The  chapter  falls  into  three  sections, 

First,  vv.  I — 12,  Job  clears  himself  of  all  those  secret  sensual  desires 
of  the  heart  which  seduce  men  into  shameful  conduct. 

Second,  vv.  13 — 23,  he  repudiates  all  abuse  of  his  power  in  reference 
to  those  inferior  in  rank,  and  all  selfish  indifference  to  the  sufferings  and 
wants  of  the  unfortunate. 

Third,  vv.  24 — 40,  he  clears  himself  of  every  secret  feeling  that  would 
be  accounted  dishonourable,  whether  in  regard  to  men  or  God. 

1 — 12.  Job  clears  himself  of  cherishing  or  yielding  to  sensuous 
desires.  This  idea  is  pursued  through  a  series  of  instances  ;  (i)  simple 
desire,  excited  by  the  eye,  vv.  i — 4;  (2)  actual  yielding  to  such  desire 
in  word  or  deed,  vv.  5 — 8 ;  (3)  the  grossest  form  of  sensual  sin,  vv.  9 — 12. 

1.  The  "eye,"  the  lusts  of  which  are  frequently  spoken  of  in  scrip- 
ture, is  the  great  inlet  through  which  that  which  is  without  affects  the 
heart  and  stirs  evil  desire.  Job  made  a  "covenant"  or  agreement  with 
his  eyes,  that  they  should  obey  his  mind,  or  act  always  in  harmony  with 
his  higher  self. 


214  JOB,  XXXI.  [vv.  2—6. 

Why  then  should  I  think  upon  a  maid? 

For  what  portion  of  God  ts  there  from  above  ? 

And  what  inheritance  of  the  Almighty  from  on  high? 

Is  not  destruction  to  the  wicked  ? 

And  a  strange  punishment  to  the  workers  of  iniquity  ? 

Doth  not  he  see  my  ways, 

And  count  all  my  steps  ? 

If  I  have  walked  with  vanity, 

Or  if  my  foot  hath  hasted  to  deceit; 

Let  me  be  weighed  in  an  even  balance, 

That  God  may  know  mine  integrity. 

w/iy  then  sJiould  I  thinh^  Or,  how  then  should  I  look?  Untlcr 
liis  contract  with  liis  eyes  such  sinful  looking  upon  a  woman  (Matt. 
V.  •28)  was  impossible;  comp.  Rom.  vi.  2,  We  that  died  to  sin,  how 
shall  we  live  any  longer  therein? 

2 — 4.  The  considerations  that  restrained  him  from  such  a  sin.  These 
are  recited  as  they  then  influenced  his  mind. 

2.  And  what  is  the  portion  from  God  above? 

And  what  the  heritage  from  the  Almighty  on  high  ? 

3.  Is  it  not  destruction  to  the  wicked, 
And  calamity  to  the  workers  of  iniquity? 

4.  Here  "ways"  and  "steps"  are  said  of  things  so  slight  as  the 
glance  of  the  eye.  These  are  "seen"  and  "counted"  by  God.  The 
thought  of  God  in  these  verses  is  as  lofty  as  the  conception  of  morality 
is  close  and  inward. 

5—8.  These  verses  continue  to  amplify  the  thought  that  Job  refused 
to  give  way  to  any  evil  desire.  The  protestation  lies  in  v.  5  and  v.  7, 
the  curse  imprecated  on  himself  in  v.  8,  while  v.  6  is  parenthetical, 
thrown  in  to  confirm  the  denial  implicitly  contained  in  v.  5. 

5.  If  I  have  walked  with  falsehood, 
And  my  foot  hath  hasted  after  deceit 

6.  (Let  him  weigh  me  in  an  even  balance, 
And  let  God  know  mine  integrity), 

7.  If  my  step  hath  turned  out  of  the  way,  &c. 

5.  "Falsehood"  or  vanity,  which  is  not  merely  in  word  but  in 
thought,  and  "deceit"  are  here  treated  as  persons;  with  the  one  Job 
denies  that  he  has  "walked,"  i.e.  accompanied  it,  and  the  other  he 
denies  that  he  "hasted  after,"  i.e.  followed  it.  He  has  made  no  com- 
panion of  falsity  nor  followed  after  deceit,  to  do  aught  that  they  would 
seduce  him  to.  From  the  imprecation  in  v.  8,  Let  me  sow  and  another 
eat !  it  is  probable  that  what  Job  clears  himself  of  is  all  false  dealing 
prompted  by  cupidity. 

6.  A  solemn  assertion  before  God  the  judge  that  his  denial  in  v.  5  is 
true.     The  words  are  parenthetical. 


vv.  7— 12.]  JOB,   XXXI.  215 

If  my  step  hath  turned  out  of  the  way,  3 

And  mine  heart  walked  after  mine  eyes, 

And  if  any  blot  hath  cleaved  to  my  hands ; 

Then  let  me  sow,  and  let  another  eat;  f 

Yea,  let  my  offspring  be  rooted  out. 

If  mine  heart  have  been  deceived  by  a  woman,  <, 

Or  z/I  have  laid  wait  at  my  neighbour's  door; 

Then  let  my  wife  grind  unto  another,  i 

And  let  others  bow  down  upon  her. 

For  this  is  a  heinous  crime;  j 

Yea,  it  is  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judges. 

For  it  is  a  fire  that  consumeth  to  destruction,  j 

And  would  root  out  all  mine  increase. 

7.  out  of  the  way\  i.e.  the  way  of  rectitude,  set  before  him  by  God, 
ch.  xxiii.  1 1.  This  going  out  of  the  way  is  amplified  in  the  next  words, 
if  tnine  heart  walked  after  mine  eyes,  i.  e.  if  my  mind  consented  and 
yielded  to  the  lust  of  the  eye.  By  such  yielding  he  would  have  fallen  into 
deeds  that  would  have  left  a  "blot"  or  stain  upon  his  hands;  comp. 
Ps.  xxiv.  4. 

8.  The  imprecation. 

let  my  offspring  be  rooted  out]  Rather,  let  my  produce,  i.e.  what 
springs  out  of  that  which  I  have  planted  or  sown  ;  comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  16; 
Deut.  xxviii.  33. 

9 — 12.     The  grossest  sensual  sin,  adultery. 

heart  have  been  deceived]    Or,  befooled,  infatuated. 

10.  To  "grind  unto  another,"  i.e.  at  the  mill,  is  to  be  the  slave  of 
another.  Is.  xlvii.  2.  The  slave  was  at  the  same  time  usually  the  con- 
cubine of  her  master,  and  the  curse  means,  Let  my  wife  be  the  slave 
(first  clause)  and  the  concubine  (second  clause)  of  others.  It  is  pro- 
bable, however,  that  in  usage  the  language  of  the  first  clause  carried  the 
same  sense  as  the  second. 

11.  a  heinous  crime]  Or,  an  enormity,  Hos.  vi.  9  marg.;  cf.  Lev. 
xviii.  17.  Adultery  was  a  capital  crime  in  Israel,  Deut.  xxii.  22; 
John  viii.  5. 

12.  to  destruction]  Heb.  abaddon,  i.e.  Sheol  or  Death,  as  a  place, 
ch.  xxvi.  6,  xxviii.  22.  As  to  the  complete  ruin  which  this  sin  entailed 
comp.  the  passage  Prov.  vi.  24 — 35,  particularly  the  last  verses ;  see  also 
Prov.  V.  8 — 14,  vii.  26,  27. 

13 — 23.  Job  repudiates  all  misuse  of  the  power  which  his  rank  gave 
him,  denying  (i)  that  he  treated  contemptuously  his  servants  when  they 
had  a  cause  against  him,  vv.  13 — i.s  ;  (2)  that  he  was  indifferent  to  the 
wants  of  the  unprotected,  or  refused  to  bestow  on  them  of  his  own  bread 
and  raiment,  vv.  16 — 20;  (3)  that  he  violently  wronged  any,  even 
though  he  could  have  secured  a  judgment  favourable  to  him  before  the 
tribunal,  v,  21  ;  after  which  follows  the  imprecation,  vv.  22,  23. 


2i6  JOB,  XXXI.  [vv.  13—21. 

If  I  did  despise  the  cause  of  my  manservant  or  of  my 
maidservant, 

When  they  contended  with  me; 

What  then  shall  1  do  when  God  riseth  up? 

And  when  he  visiteth,  what  shall  I  answer  him  ? 
;      Did  not  he  that  made  me  in  the  womb  make  him? 

And  did  not  one  fashion  us  in  the  womb  ? 

If  I  have  withheld  the  poor  from  their  desire, 

Or  have  caused  the  eyes  of  the  widow  to  fail; 

Or  have  eaten  my  morsel  myself  alone, 

And  the  fatherless  hath  not  eaten  thereof; 
i      (For  from  my  youth  he  was  brought  up  loith  me,  as  luith 
a  father, 

And  I  have  guided  her  from  my  mother's  womb;) 
)      If  I  have  seen  any  perish  for  want  of  clothing, 

Or  any  poor  without  covering; 
>      If  his  loins  have  not  blessed  me. 

And  ?/he  were  not  warmed  with  the  fleece  of  my  sheep; 

If  I  have  lift  up  my  hand  against  the  fatherless, 

When  I  saw  my  help  in  the  gate : 

13.  Job  refers  to  what  he  might  have  done  in  his  high  position ;  he 
might  have  "despised"  or  sHghted  the  cause  of  his  servants  when  they 
had  ground  of  complaint  against  him.  He  treated  them  not  as  possessions 
but  as  persons,  wiio  had  rights  as  well  as  himself,  14,  15.  This  treat- 
ment of  them  was  forced  on  him  by  the  feeling  that  all  men,  his  servant 
and  himself  alike,  are  children  of  the  same  one  God,  who  will  avenge 
wrong  done  to  any,  whether  slave  or  free  ;  Ephes.  vi.  9. 

14.  ivhcn  God  riseth  tip\  i.e.  to  judge,  as  the  expression  "visiteth" 
in  the  next  clause  suggests. 

16.  eyes  of  the  ividow  to  fail]  i.e.  with  looking  in  vain  for  help, 
Ps.  Ixix.  3. 

18.  he  luas  brought  7ip  with  vte]  Rather,  he  (the  fatherless)  grew  up 
with  me.  Job  probably  did  not  achieve  his  greatness,  he  was  born  to 
it.  And  possibly  he  inherited  the  traditions  of  a  great  and  benevolent 
house.  And  thus  even  from  his  youth  he  took  the  place  toward  the 
poor  of  a  patron  and  father. 

19.  seen  any  perish^  Rather,  perishing,  or  ready  to  perish,  cli. 
xxix.  13. 

21.  if  I  have  lift  up  my  hand\  i.e.  to  strike  him  down.  The  ex- 
pression is  figurative,  meaning  to  oppress  violently. 

I  saw  my  help  in  the  gate\  i.e.  because  he  saw  that  if  the  cause  came 
before  the  judges  (the  gate)  he  could  secure  from  them,  by  his  in- 
fluence, a  verdict  favourable  to  himself. 


vv.  22—28.]  JOB,  XXXT,  217 

Then  let  mine  arm  fall  from  my  shoulder  blade,  22 

And  mine  arm  be  broken  from  the  bone. 

For  destruction  from  God  tvas  a  terror  to  me,  23 

And  by  reason  of  his  highness  I  could  not  endure. 

If  I  have  made  gold  my  hope,  ?4 

Or  have  said  to  the  fine  gold,  Thou  art  my  confidence; 

If  I  rejoiced  because  my  wealth  zuas  great,  25 

And  because  mine  hand  had  gotten  much; 

If  I  beheld  the  sun  when  it  shined,  26 

Or  the  moon  walking  in  brightness; 

And  my  heart  hath  been  secretly  enticed,  27 

Or  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand: 

This  also  were  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the  judge:         23 

For  I  should  have  denied  the  God  tiiat  is  above. 

22.  The  imprecation  is  closely  connected  in  form  with  the  pre- 
ceding verse — if  I  have  lifted  up  mine  hand,  then  let  mine  arm,  &c. 

mine  arm  fall]   Or,  my  shoulder  fall. 

fro7n  the  bone\  Marg.  the  chanel  bone^  "  an  old  term  for  the  collar 
bone"  (Wright,  Bible  IVord-Book).     The  word  is  lit.  tube,  or  shaft. 

23.  highness  I  could  not  endure]  Or,  majesty  I  was  powerless,  lit. 
/  was  finable.  The  verse  closes  the  whole  passage  vv.  16 — -22,  ex- 
pressing the  feeling  by  which  Job's  conduct  was  regulated  ;  his  awe 
before  the  majesty  of  God  and  fear  of  His  judicial  anger  restrained  him, 
so  that  he  was  "powerless"  to  commit  any  of  the  wrongs  to  which  he 
has  just  made  reference. 

24 — 34.  Repudiation  of  another  class  of  secret  sins,  that  would  have 
dishonoured  him  :  (i)  secret  joy  in  the  possession  of  wealth — that  love 
of  gain  which  is  idolatry  (Col.  iii.  5),  vv.  24,  25 ;  (2)  a  momentary  im- 
pulse to  salute  the  rising  sun  or  the  moon  in  her  splendour  and  thus  be 
false  to  the  true  spiritual  God  on  high,  vv.  26 — 28;  (3)  secret  joy  of 
heart  at  the  misfortune  of  his  enemy,  vv.  29,  30  ;  (4)  narrowness  of 
soul  and  niggardliness,  vv.  31,  32  ;  and  finally,  hypoci'isy,  vv.  33,  34. 

27.  or  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand]  lit.  and  my  hand  hath  kissed 
viy  month.  The  meaning  is,  if  his  hand  touched  his  mouth  "in  order 
to  wave  the  homage  of  the  lips  towards  the  object  of  adoration"  (Con.), 
riiny  (quoted  in  Del.)  says,  Inter  adorandum  dexteram  ad  osciihtm 
referimus  et  totum  corpus  circumagimus.  The  worship  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  was  widely  spread  in  the  East  and  in  Arabia.  The  remarkable 
passage,  Jer.  xliv.  17  seg.,  shews  that  before  the  Exile  worship  of  the 
"queen  of  heaven"  had  long  been  practised  among  all  classes  and  in 
all  the  towns  of  Israel ;  comp.  Ezek.  viii.  16. 

28.  Comp.  Deut.  iv.  19,  xvii.  3 — 7.  Such  adoration  would  have  been 
a  "denial"  of,  or  a  being  false  to,  God,  the  one  spiritual  God,  above. 
Much  more  than  a  thousand  years  later  Mohammed  has  still  to  say  to 
his  Arabs,  "Worship  not  the  sun,  neither  the  moon  :  but  worship  God 


2i8  JOB,   XXXI.  [vv.  29—31. 

If  I  rejoiced  at  the  destruction  of  him  that  hated  me, 

Or  lift  up  myself  when  evil  found  him: 

(Neither  have  I  suffered  my  mouth  to  sin 

By  wishing  a  curse  to  his  soul.) 

If  the  men  of  my  tabernacle  said  not, 

O  that  we  had  of  his  flesh !  we  cannot  be  satisfied. 

who  created  them,"  Kor.  ch.  xli.  A  pretty  fable  is  told  also  of  Abraham — 
"When  night  closed  over  him  he  saw  a  star,  and  said,  This  is  my  Lord; 
but  when  it  set  he  said,  I  love  not  those  that  set.  And  when  he  saw 
the  moon  appearing  he  said.  This  is  my  Lord  ;  but  when  it  set  he  said. 
Surely  if  my  Lord  direct  me  not  aright  I  shall  be  of  the  people  that  go 
astray.  And  when  he  saw  the  sun  rising  he  said,  This  is  my  Lord,  this 
is  the  greatest ;  but  when  it  set  he  said,  O  my  people,  verily  I  am  clear 
of  what  ye  associate  with  God  ;  verily  I  have  turned  my  face  towards 
Him  who  hath  created  heaven  and  earth,"  &c.  Kor,  ch.  vi.  76. 

29.  a/  //le  destruction^   Or,  at  the  misfortune,  ch.  xii.  5. 
lift  up  myself]  Or,  exulted. 

30.  The  verse,  which  is  parenthetical,  reads, 

(Yea,  I  suffered  not  my  mouth  to  sin. 

To  ask,  with  a  curse,  his  life). 
He  was  so  far  from  rejoicing  in  the  evil  that  befell  his  enemy  that  he 
had  never  permitted  himself  even  in  hasty  anger  to  throw  out  an  impre- 
cation against  him.      On  the   obligation  of    love   to    enemies  comp. 
Prov.  xxiv.  17  set/.,  xxv.  21  set/. 

31.  The  verse  appears  to  mean, 

If  the  men  of  my  tent  have  not  said, 

Would  that  we  could  find  any  not  filled  with  his  flesh  ! 
The  men  of  his  tent  are  of  course  his  servants.  The  verse  describes 
Job's  princely  hospitality ;  his  servants  are  represented  as  expressing 
the  wish  that  they  could  fmd  any  one  who  has  not  yet  (like  others)  been 
filled  from  Job's  rich  table — hence  the  particular  word  flesh  is  used 
instead  of  the  more  general  "meat,"  flesh  being  served  chiefly  on  occa- 
sions of  entertainment  in  the  East.  The  servants  were  well  aware  of 
their  master's  generosity,  and  did  their  best  to  give  it  effect.  The 
language  might  appear  exaggerated  were  it  not  a  question  of  Oriental 
manners.  In  the  story  of  the  Banker  of  Bagdad  in  the  Arabian 
Nights  the  servants  are  introduced  speaking  in  the  same  way.  The 
Caliph  Elmo'taddid  and  his  companion  Ibn  Hamdoon  went  out  one 
day,  disguised  as  merchants,  to  divert  themselves  among  the  people;  and 
being  overpowered  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  they  sat  down  to  rest  at  the 
door  of  a  large  mansion.  Out  of  this  house  there  came  a  servant,  ac- 
companied by  another,  like  a  piece  of  the  moon  ;  and  the  one  said  to 
the  other.  Our  master  will  be  sad  to-day,  for  it  is  already  this  time  of 
day  and  no  one  has  come  to  him,  and  he  loves  to  have  guests.  The 
Caliph  was  surprised  at  his  words  and  said,  This  is  proof  of  the 
generosity  of  the  owner  of  this  mansion,  we  must  go  in,  &c. 


vv.  32—35.]  JOB,  XXXI.  219 

The  stranger  did  not  lodge  in  the  street:  3 

But  I  opened  my  doors  to  the  traveller. 

If  I  covered  my  transgressions  as  Adam,  3 

By  hiding  mine  iniquity  in  my  bosom : 

Did  I  fear  a  great  multitude,  3 

Or  did  the  contempt  of  families  terrify  me, 

That  I  kept  silence,  atid  went  not  out  ^the  door? 

O  that  one  would  hear  me  !  3 

32.  to  the  travelkr'\  The  word  might  mean  to  the  way,  the  street ; 
the  general  sense  is  the  same.  The  verse  confirms  Job's  universal 
hospitality  and  liberality. 

33 — 34.     The  verses  should  probably  be  read, 

33.  If  I  have  covered  my  transgressions  like  men, 
Hiding  mine  iniquity  in  my  bosom, 

34.  Because  I  feared  the  great  multitude, 

And  the  contempt  of  the  families  terrified  me, 

So  that  I  kept  still  and  went  not  out  of  the  door. 

33.  as  Adam]  This  is  possible,  and  so  Hos.  vi.  7  ;  such  a  reference, 
however,  seems  without  motive  here.  The  words  rather  mean,  liA-e 
common  men,  like  the  world  (Ew.),  Ps.  xvii.  4. 

34.  a  great  multitiidc\  i.e.  the  general  mass,  or  the  assembly,  of 
the  people. 

contempt  of  families]  i.e.  the  great  clans  or  tribes.  The  verse 
gives  the  reason  why  Job,  if  he  had  been  conscious  of  sins,  would  have 
refrained  from  going  "forth  at  the  door, — fear  of  the  contempt  of  men 
would  have  deterred  him.  The  passage  ch.  xxix.  7  seq.  shews  that  he 
was  deterred  by  no  such  fear,  he  constantly  frequented  the  assembly 
and  "  sat  as  king  "  in  the  midst  of  the  people. 

What  Job  affirms  in  these  verses  is  not  of  course  that,  when  he  was 
guilty  of  any  transgressions,  he  did  not  conceal  but  openly  acknowledged 
them.  On  the  contrary  he  affirms  that  he  had  no  sins  which  he  needed 
to  conceal.  He  lived  in  the  broad  day  and  without  fear  confronted  all 
(ch.  xxix.  7  seq.)  because  he  had  nothing  to  hide.  Job  repudiates  all 
hypocritical  conduct  or  secret  transgression.  This  was  the  charge  his 
friends  made  against  him.  And  this  consciousness  of  purity  of  heart, 
struggling  with  false  accusations  of  hypocrisy,  forces  from  him  a  new 
appeal  to  God  to  make  known  to  him  the  sins  laid  to  his  charge, 
vv.  35 — 37.     The  verses  are  closely  connected  with  vv.  33,  34. 

35.  Oh  that  I  had  one  who  would  hear  me  ! — 

Behold  my  signature  !     Let  the  Almighty  answer  me  !— 
And  that  I  had  the  charge  which  mine  adversary  had  written  ! 

36.  Surely  I  would  carry  it  upon  my  shoulder, 
I  would  bind  it  as  a  crown  unto  me ; 

37.  I  would  declare  unto  him  the  number  of  my  steps, 
As  a  prince  would  I  go  near  unto  him. 

35.     The  words  "  one  that  would  hear  me,"  though  spoken  generally, 


230  JOB,   XXXI.  [vv.  36—38. 

Behold,  my  desire  is,  that  the  Ahnighty  would  answer  me, 

And  that  mine  adversary  had  written  a  book. 
35      Surely  I  would  take  it  upon  my  shoulder, 

And  bind  it  as  a  crown  to  me. 
37      I  would  declare  unto  him  the  number  of  my  steps; 

As  a  prince  would  I  go  near  unto  him. 
33      If  my  land  cry  against  me, 

refer  of  course  to  God.  It  is  He  that  Job  desires  to  hear  Iiini.  In  the 
third  clause  he  names  Him  his  adversary,  i.e.  opponent  in  the  plea 
concerning  his  innocence.  And  he  desires  that  he  had  the  charge,  Heb. 
book,  i.e.  the  libcUiis,  libel  or  indictment,  which  his  accuser  had  written 
and  handed  in  against  him.  The  middle  clause  consists  of  two  exclama- 
tions which  force  themselves  in  between  the  two  parts  of  the  wish 
which  he  expresses.  By  the  first,  behold  tny  siiptatnrt-.  Job  means  to  say 
that  he  affixes  his  signature  to  all  the  protestations  of  his  innocence  just 
made  in  the  preceding  verses  of  the  chapter,  and  attests  them  as  his 
plea  on  his  side.  By  the  other,  lei  the  Almighty  aits-^acr  vie,  he  challenges 
God,  his  accuser,  to  put  in  His  plea  in  answer  to  his  own.  The  language 
is  evidently  taken  from  the  judicial  practice  of  the  time,  according 
to  which  both  charge  and  defence  were  laid  before  the  court  in  writing. 
This  is  known  to  have  been  the  practice  in  Egypt,  though  perhaps 
in  many  parts  of  the  East  the  proceedings  may  liavc  been  oral.  The 
word  signature  or  sign  (Ezek.  ix.  4)  is  tav  in  Ilelj.  This  is  the  name  of 
the  letter  T,  the  old  form  of  which  was  a  cross,  but  the  inference 
that  Job's  signature,  or  that  signatures  in  his  time,  had  the  form  of 
a  cross  is  scarcely  warranted. 

36.  Jipon  tny  sIioulder\  If  Job  but  possessed  the  Almighty's  indict- 
ment against  him  he  would  not  hide  it  as  a  thing  that  caused  him 
shame,  he  would  bear  it  in  triumph  before  the  world  as  that  which  was 
his  greatest  honour.  lie  would  even  wear  it  as  a  diadem  upon 
his  brows,  as  tiiat  which  would  give  him  kingly  dignity  and  adornment. 
The  language  expresses  the  strongest  assurance  of  innocence  and 
tiiat  the  indictment  could  in  truth  contain  nothing  against  him. 

37.  the  number  of  tny  steps']  i.e.  every  act  of  my  life. 

as  a  prince]  In  the  consciousness  and  pride  of  true  nobility  ;  with  the 
confident  step  and  erect  bearing  of  one  who  knows  that  nothing  dis- 
honouring can  be  laid  to  his  charge. 

38 — 40.  Job  resumes  his  protestations,  imprecating  a  curse  upon  his 
lands  if  he  have  acquired  them  unjustly,  and  wishing  that  they 
may  bring  forth  weeds  instead  of  grain. 

38.  If  my  land  cry  out  against  me, 

And  the  furrows  thereof  weep  together; 

39.  If  I  have  eaten  the  fruits  thereof  without  money, 
And  caused  the  soul  of  its  owners  to  expire  : 

40.  I/Ct  thistles,  &c. 

38.  The  literal  meaning  of  the  figurative  expressions  in  this  verse 


vv.  39,  40-]  JOB,  XXXI.  XXXII.  221 

Or  that  the  furrows  likewise  thereof  complain; 

If  I  have  eaten  the  fruits  thereof  without  money,  39 

Or  have  caused  the  owners  thereof  to  lose  their  life: 

Let  thistles  grow  instead  of  wheat,  40 

And  cockle  instead  of  barley. 

The  words  of  Job  are  ended. 

is  given  in  v.  39.  The  land,  unjustly  seized,  is  supposed  to  cry  out  to 
heaven  against  the  cruelty  and  wrong  done  its  true  owner  from  whom  it 
had  been  robbed  ("without  money,"  v.  39).  The  land  and  its  rightful 
owner  have  a  common  cause,  it  feels  and  weeps  over  the  injury  he  has 
suffered. 

39.  to  lose  their  lift'l  lit.  if  I  have  caused  the  soul  of  the  oivncrs 
thereof  to  breathe  out.  The  reference  may  be  either  to  oppressions 
which  brought  the  owners  to  death,  after  which  their  land  was  seized 
without  money,  or  to  oppressive  appropriation  of  the  land  so  that  the 
rightful  owner  was  brought  to  death  through  penury  and  misery. 

40.  For  "thistles"  perhaps  thorns  is  more  accurate.  The  word 
translated  "cockle"  means  perhaps  any  noisome  weed.  The  concrete 
expressions,  however,  add  to  the  vigour  of  the  passage. 

Some  have  thought  that  these  last  verses  (38 — 40)  have  been  misplaced, 
and  ought  to  be  introduced  at  some  other  point  in  the  chapter,  allowing 
Job's  challenge  vv.  35 — 37  to  be  the  last  words  which  he  utters. 
To  modern  feeling  the  passage  would  thus  gain  in  rhetorical  effect  ; 
but  it  is  not  certain  that  the  Author's  taste  would  have  coincided  with 
modern  feeling  in  this  instance.  And  it  is  difficult  to  find  in  the 
chapter  a  suitable  place  where  the  verses  could  be  inserted.  If  the 
verses  belong  to  the  passage  at  all,  which  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt, 
they  seem  to  stand  in  the  only  place  suitable  for  them. 

The  concluding  statement  "the  words  of  Job  are  ended"  hardly 
belongs  to  the  Author  of  the  Book.  It  is  the  remark  of  some 
editor  or  copyist,  who  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  Job's  connected 
discourses  here  come  to  an  end.  It  is  rather  hazardous  to  draw  any 
critical  conclusion  from  it  in  reference  to  the  immediately  following 
speeches  of  Elihu. 

Ch.  XXXII.— XXXVII.    The  speeches  of  Elihu. 

Ch.  XXXII.    Introduction  of  Elihu,  a  new  speaker  ;  with 
his  reasons  for  taking  part  in  the  controversy. 

The  Chapter  contains  three  parts : 

First,  V.  I.  The  reason  why  Job's  three  friends  refrained  from 
speaking  further — they  failed  to  make  any  impression  on  Job :  he  was 
right  in  his  own  eyes. 

Second,  vv.  2 — 5.  The  Author  in  his  own  words  introduces  Elihu, 
stating  the  reasons  which  constrained  this  speaker  to  take  part  in  the 
dispute.  The  anger  of  Elihu  was  kindled,  first,  against  Job,  because 
he  justified  himself  as  against  God,  held  himself  in  the  right  at  the  ex- 


222  JOB,   XXXII.  [vv.  1—3. 

32      So  these  three  men  ceased  to  answer  Job,  because  he  tvas 

2  righteous  in  his  own  eyes.  Then  was  kindled  the  wrath  of 
Ehhu  the  son  of  Barachel  the  Buzite,  of  the  kindred  of 
Ram:  against  Job  was  his  wrath  kindled,  because  he  justi- 

3  fied  himself  rather  than  God.    Also  against  his  three  friends 

pense  of  God's  righteousness;  and  second,  against  the  three  friendr 
because  they  failed  to  bring  forward  such  arguments  as  effectively  to 
condemn  Job,  that  is,  shew  him  to  be  in  the  wrong  in  his  complaints  of 
God.  In  other  words,  the  sole  point  which  Elihu  has  in  view  is  justi- 
fication of  God,  and  towards  this  point  all  his  reasoning  is  directed. 
Job  is  guilty  of  wrong  against  God,  and  the  three  friends  are  to  blame 
because  they  have  not  been  able  to  bring  this  wrong  home  to  Job. 

These  iive  verses  are  in  prose,  though  curiously  enough  they  are 
pointed  with  the  Poetical  Accentuation. 

Third,  vv.  6 — 22.  Elihu  is  then  introduced  speaking  in  his  own 
person,  and  stating  the  reasons  which  hitherto  have  kept  him  from 
speaking,  and  those  which  induce  him  now  to  take  part  in  the  contro- 
versy. He  would  have  spoken  sooner  had  he  not  been  a  youth  in  the 
midst  of  aged  and  presumably  wise  men.  But  he  reflects,  and  indeed 
present  events  shew  it,  that  wisdom  is  not  the  prerogative  of  mere  age  ; 
it  is  a  gift  of  God,  and  therefore  he  will  advance  his  opinion.  It  is 
intolerable  to  him  [v.  19)  that  a  man  like  Job,  who  utters  such  perverse 
and  godless  sentiments  (ch.  xxxiv.  7),  should  not  be  put  to  silence ; 
and  he  is  conscious  of  ability  {vv.  8,  iS)  to  answer  him  and  all  his  class 
(ch.  XXXV.  4). 

1.  heivas  7-igIitcoits\  i.e.  would  admit  no  guilt,  or,  was  in  the  right 
in  his  plea  against  God.  Job's  friends  abantloned  further  argument 
with  him  because  they  could  not  move  him  from  his  assertion  that  God 
afflicted  him  wrongly  and  unjustly;  comp.  ch.  xxvii.  2 — 6. 

2 — 5.  Introtluction  of  Elihu,  a  new  speaker,  who  appears  to  have 
been  a  listener  during  the  progress  of  the  former  debate.  The  descent 
of  Elihu  is  given  with  fuller  details  than  in  the  case  of  the  other 
speakers.  The  name  Elihu,  meaning  probably  my  God  is  he,  occurs 
elsewhere,  i  Sam.  i.  i ;  i  Chron.  xii.  20.  Me  is  named  the  Buzite. 
Buz  was  brother  of  Uz,  Gen.  xxii.  21,  and  son  of  Nahor.  In  Jerem. 
XXV.  23  Buz  is  mentioned  along  with  Tenia  (cf  Job  vi.  19),  and  reckoned 
among  the  Arab  tribes.  The  name  Ram,  therefore,  which  does  not 
occur  elsevv-here,  is  scarcely  to  be  taken  as  a  contraction  for  Aram  or 
Syria  (though  comp.  2  Chr.  xxii.  5,  where  Ramites  =  Aramites). 

justified  himself  rather  than  God\  The  meaning  appears  to  be,  justi- 
fied himself  as  against  God,  in  his  plea  with  God  and  at  the  expense  of 
God's  justice.  The  sense  is  given  in  ch.  xl.  8,  where  the  Lord  says  to 
job,  "Wilt  thou  condemn  me  that  thou  mayest  be  rigliteous"? 
There  are  two  points  to  be  attended  to  in  these  passages  when  the 
question  of  riglit  is  raised,  the  one  a  formal  j)oint  and  the  other  a 
material  one.  God  had  afflicted  Job  and  thus,  in  Job's  view  and  the 
view  of  his  time,  passed  a  verdict  of  wickedness  on  him.  Against  this 
verdict  Job  reclaims,  God  does  him  wrong  in  this.     This  is  the  formal 


vv.  3— 8.]  JOB,  XXXIT.  223 

was  his  wrath  kindled,  because  they  had  found  no  answer, 
and  yd  had  condemned  Job.     Now  Elihu  had  waited  till  4 
Job  had  spoken,  because  they  were  elder  than  he.     When  5 
Elihu  saw  that  t/iere  taas  no  answer  in  the  mouth  of  these 
three  men,  then  his  wrath  was  kindled. 

And  Elihu  the  son  of  Barachel  the  Buzite  answered  and  6 
said, 

I  am  young,  and  ye  are  very  old ; 

Wherefore  I  was  afraid,  and  durst  not  shew  you  mine 
opinion. 

I  said,  Days  should  speak,  7 

And  multitude  of  years  should  teach  wisdom. 

But  i/iere  is  a  spirit  in  man:  8 

And  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth  them  under- 
standing. 

question  of  right  between  Job  and  God.  But  this  naturally  goes  back 
into  the  material  question  of  Job's  past  life.  Elihu,  defending  the 
righteousness  of  God,  keeps  before  him  chiefly  the  formal  question. 
He  touches  little  upon  Job's  life  and  history,  differing  in  tliis  entirely 
from  the  three  friends.  He  makes  a  general,  abstract  question  out  of 
Job's  complaints  against  God,  which  he  argues  on  general  lines  with 
almost  no  reference  to  Job's  particular  case.  Job's  complaints  do 
little  more  than  suggest  to  him  the  question,  Can  God  be  justly  com- 
plained of? 

3.  had  found  tw  answer,  and  yet  had  condemned^  Rather,  had  not 
found  an  answer  and  condemned,  i.e.  found  no  answer  wherewith  to 
condemn  Job.  Elihu's  anger  was  kindled  against  the  three  friends 
because  they  had  not  found  such  an  answer  as  efiectively  to  put  Job  in 
the  wrong  in  his  charges  against  God  ;  comp.  vv.  5,  12.  Elihu  is  more 
deeply  pained  and  offended  by  Job's  charges  against  God  than  even 
the  three  friends  were  (ch.  xxxiv.  7  seq.,  v.  35  scq.) ;  he  is  far  from 
blaming  them  for  condemning  Job ;  neither  does  he  hold  the  balance 
between  Job  and  them  and  blame  them  for  condemning  him  without 
good  reasons ;  he  blames  them  for  not  finding  such  good  reasons  as 
effectively  to  condemn  him,  as  he  deserves.  Coverdale  :  because  they 
had  found  no  reasonable  ans7oer  to  overcome  him. 

4.  waited  till  Job  had  spoken'\  Rather,  waited  to  speali  unto  Job, 
lit.  waited  for  Job  with  wo7-ds.  Elihu  had  waited  (till  the  friends 
spoke)  prepared  to  address  Job,  as  he  now  does. 

6 — 10.  Elihu,  being  a  youth,  shrank  from  interfering  in  a  dispute  in 
which  aged  men  were  engaged  ;  but  he  perceived  that  wisdom  did  not 
always  accompany  grey  hairs;  it  is  a  gift  of  God,  and,  conscious  of 
possessing  it,  he  desires  now  to  be  heard. 

8.  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty^  lit.  the  breath  of  the  Almighty, 
as  ch.  xxxiii.  4.     Both  "spirit"  and  "breath"  refer  to  God's  spirit  of 


224  JOB,  XXXII.  [vv.  9— 14. 

Great  men  are  not  always  wise: 

Neither  do  the  aged  understand  judgment. 

Therefore  I  said,  Hearken  to  me; 

I  also  will  shew  mine  opinion. 

Behold,  I  waited  for  your  words; 

I  gave  ear  to  your  reasons. 

Whilst  you  searched  out  what  to  say. 

Yea,  I  attended  unto  you, 

And  behold,  there  was  none  of  you  that  convinced  Job, 

Or  that  answered  his  words : 

Lest  ye  should  say,  We  have  found  out  wisdom : 

God  thrusteth  him  down,  not  man. 

Now  he  hath  not  directed  his  words  against  me ; 

Neither  will  I  answer  him  with  your  speeches. 

life  breathed  into  man  when  he  is  brought  into  existence  (Gen.  ii.  7), 
there  is  no  allusion  to  any  extraordinary  illumination  given  to  Elihu  at 
the  moment  when  he  speaks.  This  spirit  of  God  is  a  spirit  of  intelli- 
gence as  well  as  of  life  (ch.  xxxiii.  4),  and  under  the  impulse  of  the 
crowding  thoughts  which  rush  into  his  mind  at  this  instant  Elihu  feels 
that  this  spirit  has  been  given  to  himself  in  great  fulness. 

9.  Great  tiien]  Or,  old  men — great  in  age,  as  the  parallel  in  the 
second  clause  explains;  cf.  Gen.  xxv.  23  (lit.  the  greater  shall  serve 
the  less). 

11 — 14.  Elihu,  directly  addressing  the  three  friends,  states  more 
clearly  his  reasons  for  taking  upon  him  to  speak  :  he  had  hoped  to 
hear  them  confute  Job,  and  was  disappointed  in  their  arguments  ;  Job 
may  be  shewn  to  be  in  the  wrong,  though  with  different  arguments 
from  those  they  had  employed.  In  Elihu's  opinion  the  cause  of  the 
three  friends  was  much  better  than  their  advocacy  of  it. 

11.  /  gave  ear  to  your  reasons]  Or,  I  listened  for  your  reasons, 
until  ye  should  search  out  what  to  say.  The  meaning  seems  to  be 
that  Elihu  looked  for  further  and  different  arguments  from  the  three 
friends. 

13 — 14.     These  verses  mean, 

13.  Say  not,  We  have  found  wisdom, 
God  may  thrust  him  down,   not  man  ; 

14.  For  he  hath  not  directed  his  words  against  me,  <S:c. 

Elihu  refuses  to  let  the  three  friends  excuse  themselves  for  their  failure 
to  answer  Job  by  the  plea  that  they  had  found  an  unexpected  wisdom 
in  him,  against  which  human  logic  was  of  no  avail,  and  which  only 
God  could  overcome.  Job's  wisdom  was  not  so  invincible.  It  re- 
mained to  be  seen  how  it  would  come  out  of  the  encounter  with  another 
wisdom,  different  from  that  of  the  Friends  : — ^Job  had  not  yet  replied  to 
Elihu's  arguments,  /le  /las  not  directed  his  tcords  against  me  {v.  14,  cf.  ch. 


vv.  15—21.]  JOB,  XXXII.  225 

They  were  amazed,  they  answered  no  more : 

They  left  off  speaking. 

When  I  had  waited,  (for  they  spake  not, 

But  stood  still,  a /id  answered  no  more:) 

/  sc7iW,  I  will  answer  also  my  part, 

I  also  will  shew  mine  opinion. 

For  I  am  full  0/ matter, 

The  spirit  within  me  constraineth  me. 

Behold,  my  belly  ts  as  wine  w/n'c/i  hath  no  vent; 

It  is  ready  to  burst  like  new  bottles. 

I  will  speak,  that  I  may  be  refreshed: 

I  will  open  my  Hps  and  answer. 

Let  me  not,  I  pray  you,  accept  any  man's  person. 

Neither  let  me  give  flattering  titles  unto  man. 

xxxiii.  5),  and  these  arguments  would  be  found  of  another  kind  fiom 
those  of  the  three  friends. 

15 — 22.  Turning  from  the  three  friends  Elihu  seems  to  speak  in 
soliloquy  and  present  to  his  own  mind  the  singular  situation :  the 
three  friends  are  discomfited  before  Job  and  reduced  to  silence ;  this 
should  not  be ;  therefore  he  will  express  his  convictions.  His  breast 
is  filled  with  thoughts  and  emotions  that  will  not  be  repressed  :  he 
must  speak,  that  he  may  find  relief.  And  he  will  speak  fearlessly  and 
in  sincerity,  not  regarding  the  person  of  any  man. 

15.  t/iey  left  off  speaking]  lit.  words  have  removed,  or,  are  gone  from 
them  (Gen.  xii.  8) — they  are  reduced  to  silence. 

16 — 17.      V.  16  is  most  naturally  to  be  taken  as  a  question, 

16.  And  shall  I  wait  because  they  speak  not, 
Because  they  stand  still  and  answer  no  more? 

17.  I  will  answer  also  my  part,  &c. 

The  discomfiture  and  silence  of  the  three  friends  shall  not  have  the 
effect  of  imposing  silence  on  him. 

18 — 19.  Elihu  feels  a  crowd  of  thoughts  and  arguments  fermenting 
in  his  bosom  and  pressing  for  utterance  with  a  force  not  to  be  resisted. 
The  word  "  belly "  corresponds  to  the  English  "  breast "  or  bosom. 
What  stirs  the  spirit  of  Elihu  is  not  only  his  eagerness  to  express  his 
convictions  on  the  question,  but  also  indignation  at  the  retreat  and 
silence  of  the  three  friends. 

20.  be  refreshed]  Rather,  find  relief ;  lit.  ^^/ «z>  or  z'^^A  The  figure 
is  still  that  of  fermenting  wine,  v.  19. 

21.  neither  let  me  give]  Rather,  neither  will  I  give  flattery.  The 
words  express  the  speaker's  resolution  to  be  sincere  and  fearless,  to 
have  regard  to  the  question  itself  solely,  and  not  to  allow  himself  to  be 
influenced  by  respect  to  the  persons  interested  in  it.  Elihu  does  not 
refer  here  to  impartiality  between  Job  and  the  three  friends.  There  is 
no  allusion  to  the  friends.    He  speaks  generally,  saying  that  he  will 

JOB  15 


226  JOB,    XXXII.  [v-  22. 

For  I  know  not  to  give  flattering  titles; 

///  so  doifig  my  Maker  would  soon  take  me  away. 

have  respect  to  truth  only;  comp,  the  language,  eh.  xxxiii.  3,  xxxiv. 
2 — 4.  Coverdale  goes  far  enougli  when  he  renders  :  "  no  man  wil  I 
spare."  Ilitzig  oversteps  the  line  when  he  says  that  Eliliu  "intimates 
his  intention  ot  being  rude  to  Job." 

22.  EUhu  is  conscious  of  sincerity;  it  is  not  in  his  nature  to  flatter. 
His  fear  of  God  also  and  sense  of  His  rectitude  would  deter  him  from 
sucii  a  thing;  comp.  Job's  language,  ch.  xiii.  "]  scq. 

These  last  words  and  many  other  things  which  Elihu  says  enable  us 
to  judge  rightly  of  the  part  which  the  author  intends  him  to  play. 
There  are  some  things  in  his  manner  of  introducing  himself  and  in  the 
way  in  which  he  speaks  of  his  own  arguments,  which  seem  to  offend 
against  modesty  and  almost  shock  our  sense  of  decorum.  We  must 
not,  however,  apply  Western  standards  of  taste  to  the  East.  There 
was  nothing  further  from  the  intention  of  the  author  of  these  Chapters 
than  to  make  Elihu  play  a  ridiculous  part.  This  speaker  is  meant  to  offer 
what  the  writer  judged  a  weighty  contribution  to  the  discussion,  and 
to  the  vindication  of  the  ways  of  God  to  man.  It  is  just  this  fact,  how- 
ever, that  Elihu  is  a  serious  speaker  and  yet  so  characterized  by  man- 
nerisms that  raises  the  question  whether  the  author  of  such  a  character 
possessed  the  severe  taste  and  high  dramatic  genius  which  so  con- 
spicuously belong  to  the  author  of  the  other  characters ;  in  other 
words,  the  question  whether  these  chapters  are  not  the  composition  of  a 
different  writer  (see  the  Introduction). 

Chap.  XXXIII.    Elihu's  First  Reply  to  Job.    Job's  complaint 
THAT  God  displays  an  arbitrary  hostility  to  him,  and 

REFUSES   TO    HEAR   ANY  APPEAL   OF   MEN    IS    UNFOUNDED.     GOD 
SPEAKS  TO   MEN   IN   MANY   WAYS. 

The  following  may  be  taken  as  an  outline  of  the  chapter : 

First,  w.  I — 7,  Elihu  in  some  introductory  words  bespeaks  Job's 
attention.  He  addresses  Job  by  name,  and,  full  of  confidence  in  his 
ability  to  answer  his  complaints,  invites  him  to  attend  to  his  words 
{vv.  r,  1),  and  assures  him  of  his  sincerity  [vv.  3,  4).  He  desires  Job  to 
reply  to  him,  for  he  is  a  man  like  himself,  and  has  no  imposing  authority 
or  presence  to  overpower  Job,  who  had  often  complained  that  God's 
power  overawed  him  and  prevented  him  from  justifying  himself 
{vv.  5—7). 

Second,  w.  8 — 13,  Elihu  then  refers  to  Job's  complaint  against  God, 
reproducing  passages  from  his  speeches  in  which  he  said  that  God 
afilicted  him  unjustly,  though  he  was  innocent;  that  He  displayed  an 
arbitrary  hostility  to  him  ;  and  refused  to  hear  any  appeal.  Elihu  re- 
futes these  charges  by  the  general  consideration  (a  favourite  one  with 
him)  that  to  act  in  such  a  way  is  unworthy  of  God,  who  is  greater  than 
men,  and  whose  ways  are  unlike  theirs. 

Third,  vv.  13 — 28,  taking  up  more  formally  Job's  complaint  that  God 
refuses  to  answer  man,  Elihu  leplies  that  God  does  speak  to  man  in 


vv.  1—5.]  JOB,  XXXIII.  1Z^ 

Wherefore,  Job,  I  pray  thee,  hear  my  speeches,  33 

And  hearken  to  all  my  words. 

Behold  now  I  have  opened  my  mouth,  2 

My  tongue  hath  spoken  in  my  mouth. 

My  words  shall  be  of  the  uprightness  of  my  heart:  3 

And  my  lips  shall  utter  knowledge  clearly. 

The  Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  4 

And  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  hath  given  me  life. 

If  thou  canst,  answer  me,  5 

Set  thy  words  in  order  before  me,  stand  up. 

many  ways  ;  first  {-•v.  14 — 18)  in  dreams,  to  instruct  him  and  turn  him 
away  from  pride  and  from  sin  that  might  end  in  death  ;  and  second 
{z'v.  19—28)  by  angelic  messengers  in  the  midst  of  afflictions,  who  shew 
to  man  what  is  right.  If  the  sinner  tlms  warned  takes  his  instruction 
to  heart,  he  is  restored  to  health  and  prosperity,  and  in  his  thankfulness 
shews  publicly  to  men  God's  mercy,  who  hath  not  rewarded  him  ac- 
cording to  his  work. 

Finally,  vv.  29 — 33,  Elihu  sums  up  the  general  lesson  of  his  teaching 
regarding  God  in  the  preceding  verses  and  invites  Job  to  reply  to  it,  or 
if  he  cannot  to  listen  in  silence  to  further  instruction. 

1 — 7.  Introductory  appeal  to  Job  to  listen  to  Elihu,  who  will  speak 
in  all  honesty,  and  who  being  a  man  like  Job  himself  may  be  argued 
with. 

1.  Elihu,  unlike  the  other  speakers,  addresses  Job  by  name. 

2.  The  somewhat  formal  and  circumstantial  way  in  which  he  inti- 
mates that  he  is  going  to  speak  indicates  his  feeling  of  the  importance 
of  what  he  is  going  to  say,  and  bespeaks  Job's  attention. 

3.  Reiteration  of  the  speaker's  sincerity;  he  possesses  what  Job  had 
desiderated  on  the  part  of  his  three  friends,  uprightness  (ch.  vi.  25). 

wy  lips  shall  iitlcr  knmvkdge  clearly']  lit.  and  the  kuoivledge  of  7)ty  lips 
they  shall  nttei-  ptirely,  with  no  mixture  of  falsehood ;  his  lips  will  ex- 
press truly  the  sincere  convictions  of  his  mind. 

4.  On  the  language  of  this  verse  see  ch.  xxxii.  8.  The  verse  seems 
connectedvvith  v.  3.  Elihu  will  utter  his  sincere  conviction,  and  it 
is  a  conviction  flowing  from  that  spirit  of  God  given  him  in  his 
creation  ;  this  is  a  guarantee  of  its  worth  as  well  as  its  sincerity.  The 
appeal  is  to  common  reason  (ch.  xxxiv.  1,  3),  which  is  a  divine  illu- 
mination (the  lamp  of  the  Lord,  Prov.  xx.  a;),  but  in  his  animated  zeal 
for  God  against  tlie  charges  of  Job  Elihu  feels  that  this  spirit  of  God  is 
within  him  in  a  powerful  degree  and  gives  him  a  higher  wisdom  than 
ordinary. 

5 — 7.  Full  of  this  feeling  Elihu  invites  Job  to  measure  himself  with 
this  wisdom  {v.  4).  Let  the  matter  be  reasoned  out  as  it  may  be  on 
equal  terms,  for  in  Elihu  a  man  like  himself  Job  will  have  no  rea- 
son to  complain  of  being  overawed  and  hindered  from  pleading  his 
cause. 

15—2 


22S  JOB,  XXXIII.  [vv.  6—12. 

Behold,  I  am  according  to  thy  wish  in  God's  stead: 

I  also  am  formed  out  of  the  clay. 

Behold,  my  terror  shall  not  make  thee  afraid, 

Neither  shall  my  hand  be  heavy  upon  thee. 

Surely  thou  hast  spoken  in  mine  hearing. 

And  I  have  heard  tiie  voice  of  thy  words,  saying, 

I  am  clean  without  transgression, 

I  am  innocent ;  neither  is  there  iniquity  in  me. 

Behold,  he  findeth  occasions  against  me, 

He  counteth  me  for  his  enemy. 

He  putteth  my  feet  in  the  stocks. 

He  marketh  all  my  paths. 

Behold,  in  this  thou  art  not  just:  I  will  answer  thee, 

That  God  is  greater  than  man. 

6.  according  to  thy  7vish  in  Cod's  stead'\  Rather,  as  already  Cover- 
dale,  behold,  before  God  I  am  even  as  thou ;  that  is,  in  relation  to  God  in 
the  same  position  as  Job,  a  man  like  himself.  The  words  in  God^s 
stead  suggest  the  false  conception  that  Ehhu  was  in  some  extraordinary 
way  the  representative  of  God. 

7.  Job  had  often  complained  that  the  terror  and  majesty  of  God 
overpowered  him  and  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  plead  his  cause  and 
shew  his  rectitude  ;  comp.  ch.  ix.  34,  xiii.  2\. 

7ny  hand  be  heavy]  The  term  hand  may  be  an  uncommon  form  of  the 
Ileb.  word  having  that  sense,  or  it  may  perhaps  mean  burden,  pressure; 
comp.  ch.  xiii.  ii. 

8 — 12.  To  Job's  complaint  that  God  shewed  a  hostility  to  him  which 
was  arbitrary  and  without  cause  Elihu  replies  that  such  a  thing  was  un- 
becoming God  and  not  to  be  thought  of,  for  God  is  greater  than  man. 

9.  For  the  expressions  cited  in  this  verse  comp.  ch.  ix.  21,  x.  7, 
xvi.  17,  xxiii.  10,  xxvii.  5. 

10.  See  ch.  x.  13  scq.^  xiii.  24,  xix.  11,  xxx.  2r. 

hefindclh  occasions]  lit.  enmities,  i.e.  grounds  of  enmity  or  hostility; 
he  "findeth"  is  almost  equivalent  to  He  "invents."  Covcrdale  quaintly, 
"he  hath  pyked  a  quarell  agaynst  me." 

11.  See  ch.  xiii.  27. 

12.  The  verse  probably  reads, 

Behold  in  this  thou  art  not  in  the  right,  I  will  answer  thee, 

For  God  is  greater  than  man. 
The  w^ords  I  will  ansioer  thee  are  equivalent  to,  "Behold,  my  answer 
is,  in  this  thou  art  not  right,"  <S;c.  The  answer  to  Job's  charges  which 
Elihu  contents  himself  with  giving  meantime  is  simply:  "in  this  thou 
art  not  in  the  right,  for  God  is  greater  than  man."  Elihu,  as  he  does 
often,  e.g.  ch.  xxxiv.  10,  xxxvi.  3 — 5,  24 — 25,  falls  back  on  man's 
necessary  thoughts  of  God.     Job's  charges  are  incompatible  with  just 


vv.  13—16.]  JOB,   XXXIII.  239 

Why  dost  thou  strive  against  him  ?  13 

For  he  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  matters. 

For  God  speaketh  once,  J4 

Yea  twice,  yet  man  perceiveth  it  not. 

In  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night,  15 

When  deep  sleep  falleth  upon  men, 

In  slumberings  upon  the  bed; 

Then  he  openeth  the  ears  of  men,  16 

And  sealeth  their  instruction. 


conceptions  of  God.  The  three  friends  had  argued  in  the  same  way, 
though  they  hardly  gave  the  idea  the  same  important  place  that  Elihu 
does ;  comp.  ch.  viii.  3. 

13 — 28.  When  Elihu  gives  the  general  answer  to  Job's  c?iarges 
against  God  that  "God  is  greater  than  man"  he  means  that  the  moral 
loftiness  of  God's  nature  made  it  impossible  that  He  should  act  in  the 
arbitrary,  hostile  manner  charged  against  Him  by  Job  (comp.  ch. 
xxxvi.  5).  It  was  but  another  form  of  the  same  charge  of  arbitrary 
hostility  to  man  when  Job  affirmed  that  God  was  deaf  to  all  appeal  and 
refused  to  speak  to  man;  comp.  ch.  xix.  7,  xxx.  20,  and  often.  To 
this  general  form  of  the  charge  Elihu  directs  his  attention  and  replies 
that  God  speaks  to  man  in  many  ways,  though  He  may  not  answer 
when  challenged  as  Job  had  challenged  Him  ;  comp.  ch.  xxxv.  14.  He 
speaks  to  man  in  ways  becoming  His  greatness,  ways  that  shew  that 
His  goodness  is  over  all  His  works.  Verse  13  probably  reads 
Why  dost  thou  contend  against  him 
That  he  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  matters  ? 
that  is,  Job's  contention  or  plea  against  God  is  that  He  deals  arbitrarily 
and  refuses  all  account  of  His  dealing. 

14 — 18.  To  Job's  charge  Elihu  replies  that  God  speaks  to  man  in 
many  ways,  as  in  dreams  and  visions  of  the  night,  by  which  He  in- 
structs men  and  seeks  to  turn  them  away  from  doing  evil  that  would  de- 
stroy them. 

14.  yet  man  perceiveth  it  not'\   Or,  when  man  regardeth  it  not. 

15.  The  language  recalls  the  vision  of  Eliphaz,  ch.  iv.  13  seq. 

16.  sealeth  their  instruction'\  The  instruction  is  that  communicated 
when  the  ear  is  opened,  and  a  revelation  given  (comp.  ch.  xxxvi.  10, 15 ; 
I  Sam.  ix.  15  ;  Ps.  xl.  6) ;  and  "to  seal"  it  is  to  confirm  it  and  give  it 
abiding  efficacy.  This  is  done  partly  by  the  impressive  circumstances 
and  manner  of  the  dream ;  compare  the  impression  produced  on 
Eliphaz,  after  the  model  of  whose  vision  the  passage  seems  moulded. 
Perhaps  the  figure  of  "sealing"  the  instruction  arises  from  the  idea  of 
closing  up  again  the  opened  ear  over  the  divine  communication. 

Others  understand  by  "instruction"  here  the  chastisement  of  afflic- 
tion, assuming  that  the  person  to  whom  the  vision  was  sent  was  one 
under  trouble.     "  Instruction"  is  possibly  used  in  this  sense  by  Elihu, 


230  JOB,   XXXIII.  [vv.  17—23. 

That  he  may  withdraw  m:mfrom  his  purpose, 
And  hide  pride  from  man. 
He  keepeth  back  his  soul  from  the  pit, 
And  his  Hfe  from  perishing  by  the  sword. 
He  is  chastened  also  with  pain  upon  his  bed, 
And  the  multitude  of  his  bones  toith  strong /a/;/.- 
So  that  his  life  abhorrcth  bread, 
And  his  soul  dainty  meat. 

His  flesh  is  consumed  away,  that  it  cannot  be  seen; 
And  his  bones  thai  were  not  seen  stick  out. 
Yea,  his  soul  draweth  near  unto  the  grave, 
And  his  life  to  the  destroyers. 
;      If  there  be  a  messenger  with  him,  an  interpreter, 

ch.  xxxvi.  [o ;  but  in  this  chap,  the  case  of  aflliction  seems  introduced 
first  mv.  19. 

17,  18.  The  object  of  this  intervention  of  God  is  the  gracious  one 
of  anticipating  the  sinner  in  the  evil  wliich  he  meditates  and  hindering 
it,  and  withdrawing  him  from  his  sinful  purpose,  v.  i-;  ;  and  the  effect 
of  it  is  that  man  is  preserved  from  committing  deadly  sin,  which  would 
have  brought  destruction  upon  him,  v.  18. 

The  "sword"  or  javelin,  v.  18,  is  a  figure  for  God's  destructive 
judgments;  comp.  ch.  xxxvi.  12. 

19 — 28.  These  verses  may  describe  another  instance  of  God's  dealing 
with  man,  or  a  further  discipline  of  tlie  same  person  [vv.  15 — 18),  the 
result  stated  in  z^.  18  not  having  been  attained.  The  passage  has  four 
steps : 

(i)     The  affliction,  graphically  presented,  vz'.  19 — 12. 

(2)  The  intervention  of  the  Divine  messenger,  who  interprets  to  the 
sufferer  what  it  becomes  him  to  do ;  and  God's  gracious  pardon  of 
him,  vv.  ■23,  24. 

(3)  The  restoration  to  prosperity  and  righteousness  of  him  who 
was  afflicted,  vv.  25,  26. 

(4)  His  thankfulness,  publicly  shewn  among  men,  vv.  cy,  28. 

19.  multihidc  of  his  bones  zuilh  strong  pain\  Rather,  and  with  a 
continual  strife  in  his  bones— the  word  "strife"  meaning  "conflict 
of  pain."  This  is  the  reading  of  the  Heb.  text.  The  A.  V.  has  adopted 
the  Heb.  margin ;  but  if  this  be  taken  the  sense  must  be  :  zvhile  the 
multitude  of  his  bones  is  strong,  in  his  freshness  and  youth.  Besides 
putting  a  doubtful  meaning  on  some  of  the  words,  this  sense  is  less  to 
the  purpose  here. 

20.  his  life']  Or,  desire  (appetite,  ch.  xxxviii,  39).  The  words  mean 
lit.  his  desire  makcth  him  abhor. 

22.  the  destroyers]  that  is,  perhaps,  the  angels  that  bring  death; 
2  Sam.  xxiv.  16  ;   i  Chron.  xxi.  15;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  49. 

23,  24.     The  intervention  of  the  heavenly  messenger. 

23.     a  messeui^er]   Or,  angel.     Such  an  angel  is  called  an  interpreter. 


vv.  24—27.]  JOB,  XXXIII.  23t 

One  among  a  thousand, 

To  shew  unto  man  his  uprightness: 

Then  he  is  gracious  unto  him,  and  saith,  =4 

Dehver  him  from  going  down  to  the  pit: 

I  have  found  a  ransom. 

His  flesh  shall  be  fresher  than  a  child's:  ?s 

He  shall  return  to  the  days  of  his  youth: 

He  shall  pray  unto  God,  and  he  will  be  favourable  unto  26 

him : 
And  he  shall  see  his  face  with  joy: 
For  he  will  render  unto  man  his  righteousness. 
He  looketh  upon  men,  and  if  any  say,  =7 

I  have  sinned,  and  perverted  that  which  was  right. 
And  it  profited  me  not; 

that  is,  as  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  explains,  one  who  interprets  to 
man  God's  providential  treatment  of  him,  and  shews  him  what  is  right 
for  him  to  do— his  uprightness,  that  is,  wherein  uprightness  will  consist, 
and  what  his  duty  is. 

one  among  a  thoiisand'\  lit.  one  of  a  thousand.  The  words  do  not 
ascribe  any  superlative  position  to  this  angel ;  he  is  one  of  the  thousand 
(cf.  Rev.  V.  11)  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  do  service  on  behalf  of 
the  heirs  of  salvation  (Heb.  i.  14). 

24.  then  he  is  gracious']  God  is  gracious  ;  God,  not  the  angel,  is  the 
speaker  in  the  rest  of  the  verse.  It  is  assumed  that  when  the  sufferer  is 
shewn  what  is  right  [v.  23)  he  follows  it ;  then  God  is  gracious  unto 
him,  and  commands  that  he  be  delivered  from  his  affliction  and  saved 
from  death.  It  is  hardly  of  consequence  to  enquire  what  the  ransom  is 
which  God  has  found.  It  may  be  the  sinner's  repentance  and  return  to 
rectitude  ;  or  it  may  be  that  the  affliction  is  held  sufficient  (Is.  xl.  1 ; 
Job  xxxvi.  18);  or  possibly  the  words  may  mean  nothing  more  than 
that  God  is  pleased  of  His  goodness  to  hold  the  sinner  as  ransomed  and 
delivered  from  the  consequences  of  his  sin. 

25,  26.  The  sufferer's  restoration.  For  the  future  tenses  of  A.  V. 
present  tenses  would  be  better  in  these  two  verses. 

25.  His  restoration  out  of  his  affliction  to  health  is  like  the  freshness 
of  a  new  childhood  and  the  strength  of  a  new  youth. 

26.  His  restoration  to  the  fellowship  of  God  with  its  joy. 

for  he  will  render}  Rather,  and  he  restoreth  unto  man  Ms  righteous- 
ness. God  restores  to  him  his  righteous  standing  before  Him  with  its 
joys,  regards  him  again  as  righteous,  and  admits  him  to  all  the  blessings 
of  righteousness.    The  clause  generalizes  the  ideas  of  the  rest  of  the  verse. 

27.  28.     The  restored  sinner's  thankfulness  : 

27.     He  singeth  before  men  and  saith, 

I  sinned  and  perverted  that  which  was  right, 
And  it  was  not  requited  imto  me ; 


232  JOB,   XXXIII.  [vv.  28— 33 

28      He  will  deliver  his  soul  from  going  into  the  pit, 

And  his  life  shall  see  the  light. 
2?      Lo,  all  these  thi/igs  worketh  God 

Oftentimes  with  man, 

30  To  bring  back  his  soul  from  the  pit, 

To  be  enlightened  with  the  light  of  the  living. 

31  Mark  well,  O  Job,  hearken  unto  me: 
Hold  thy  peace,  and  I  will  speak. 

32  \ithou  hast  any  thing  to  say,  answer  me: 
Speak,  for  I  desire  to  justify  thee. 

33  If  not,  hearken  unto  me : 

Hold  thy  peace,  and  I  shall  teach  thee  wisdom. 

28.     He  hath  redeemed  my  soul  from  going  into  the  pit, 
And  my  life  shall  see  the  light. 
On  account  of  the  construction  the  sense  "singeth"  is  more  probable 
than  looketh  jipon  of  A.  V. ,  though  the  form  of  the  word  is  unusual. 

28.  The  li:iht  which  the  sinner  sees  is  the  light  of  life  {v.  30),  for  he 
is  redeemed  from  the  darlcness  of  the  pit.  The  A.  V.  has  followed  the 
Heb.  margin  and  read  his  soul,  his  life.  If  this  reading  were  adopted 
the  words  would  be  a  general  statement  by  Elihu,  but  this  unnaturally 
anticipates  vv.  29,  30. 

29,  30.  Elihu  sums  up  his  doctrine  regarding  the  gracious  purpose 
and  effect  of  God's  methods  of  speaking  unto  man. 

31 — 33.  The  speaker  requests  Job  to  hear  his  further  arguments 
(v.  31) ;  or  if  he  can  reply  to  what  has  been  said,  by  all  means  let  him 
do  so,  for  Elihu  desires  that  he  should  be  in  the  right  {v.  32) ;  but  if 
not  let  him  listen  and  learn  wisdom  (7'.  33). 

31.  mark  7vcir\  These  words  do  ncjt  mean,  weigh  and  apply,  but 
listen,  namely,  to  that  which  Elihu  will  further  say. 

32.  to  justify  thee']  Y.Whn  could  not  say  that  he  desired  to  justify  Job 
in  his  plea  against  God  ;  the  words  must  refer  to  the  cause  between 
Job  and  himself.  Elihu  would  be  glad  if  Job  could  give  such  a  reply 
to  his  arguments  that  he  could  say  he  thought  him  in  the  right.  The 
words  seem  to  imply  little  more  than  the  speaker's  desire  to  be  fair,  and 
to  conduct  the  argument  on  equal  terms  with  Job  ;  comp.  vv.  6,  7. 

Chap.   XXXIV.    Elihu's  Second  Reply  to  Job.   Jon's  complaint 
THAT  God  afflicts  iiim  unjustly  is  without  reason,     a 

MOTIVE  FOR  INJUSTICE  IN  IIlM  WHO  IS  CREATOR  OF  ALL  ALIKE 
CANNOT  BE  FOUND;  AND  INJUSTICE  IN  THE  HIGHEST  RULER 
IS   INCONCEIVABLE. 

Having  in  ch.  x,\xiii.  replied  to  Job's  charge  that  God's  afilictions 
were  examples  of  an  arbitrary  hostility  to  men,  Elihu  in  this  chapter 
replies  to  another  charge,  tliat  God  \\as  unjust  in  the  afilictions  which 
He  laid  on  him.     His  answer  is,  That  a  motive  for  injustice  in  Him 


vv.  I,  2.]  JOB,   XXXIV.  233 

Furthermore  Elihu  answered  and  said,  34 

Hear  my  words,  O  ye  wise  men;  2 

who  is  Creator  of  all  cannot  be  found  ;  and,  That  injustice  in  the  Ruler 
of  all  is  inconceivable — shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ? 

The  line  of  thought  in  the  chapter  is  something  as  follows  : 

First,  VI'.  I — 4,  in  a  brief  introduction  Elihu  invites  his  intelligent 
hearers  to  listen  further  to  him,  and  to  unite  with  him  in  seeking  to 
discover  what  was  the  right,  the  just  state  of  the  case,  in  Job's  cause 
with  God  and  his  charges  against  Him. 

Second,  vv.  5 — 9,  these  charges  he  then  recites  :  Job  had  said  that 
God  perverted  his  right,  and  that  he  was  incurably  afflicted  though  he 
had  done  no  wrong  (vv.  5,  6).  Elihu  cannot  mention  such  charges 
without  expressing  his  detestation  of  them  :  Job  has  not  his  parallel  for 
impiety  {w.  7,  8).  He  has  even  gone  the  length  of  saying  that  it  was 
no  advantage  to  a  man  to  be  religious  {v.  9).  This  last  sentiment  Elihu 
does  not  deal  with  in  the  present  chapter,  its  discussion  follows  in 
ch.  XXXV. 

Third,  vv.  10 — 20,  coming  to  his  argument,  Elihu,  first  expresses 
his  reprobation  of  such  sentiments  as  those  of  Job,  they  are  contrary  to 
right  thoughts  of  God ;  such  ways  of  acting  are  not  to  be  thought  of 
in  connexion  with  the  Almighty  (j'<7.  10 — 12).  Second,  this  reproof  of 
Job's  charges  from  God's  nature  in  general  Elihu  then  particularizes 
into  two  distinct  thoughts:  (i)  a  motive  for  injustice  in  Him  who  is  the 
Creator  of  all  cannot  be  discovered ;  on  the  contrary  His  calling  all 
things  into  being  and  upholding  them  by  sending  forth  His  spirit  is 
evidence  of  unselfish  goodness,  for  were  He  to  set  His  mind  on  Himself 
and  withdraw  His  spirit  all  flesh  would  perish  {vv.  13 — 15).  (2)  The 
foundation  of  government  is  justice,  without  which  rule  would  come  to 
an  end.  Injustice  in  the  highest  Ruler  is  inconceivable.  And  in  truth 
His  rule  approves  itself,  by  its  impartiality,  to  be  just  {vv.  16 — 20). 

Fourth,  vz'.  2 1 — 28,  this  justice  is  secured  by  God's  omniscient  insight 
into  men,  and  by  His  goodness  which  is  the  spring  and  motive  of  His 
rule  of  mankind. 

Fifth,  zrj.  29 — 33,  shall  any  one  then  murmur  at  this  absolute  dis- 
posing of  all  things  by  the  hand  of  God  ?  To  murmur  is  to  usurp  the 
rule  of  God,  and  to  claim  to  dictate  how  He  should  dispense  His 
recompences. 

Finally  vv.  34 — 37,  Elihu,  having  shewn  what  is  involved  in  Job's 
charges  of  injustice  against  God,  draws  the  conclusion,  in  which  he 
is  confident  all  reflecting  minds  who  listen  to  him  will  concur  with  him, 
that  Job  speaks  without  wisdom ;  to  the  sin  of  his  life  he  has  added  a 
defiant  and  mocking  impiety,  which  one  must  wish  to  see  purified  out 
of  him  in  the  furnace  of  severer  afflictions. 

2 — 4.  Elihu  invites  the  wise  among  those  who  listen  to  him  to 
attend  to  what  he  further  says,  and  to  unite  with  him  in  seeking  to 
discover  the  right  in  this  cause  between  Job  and  God. 

2.  The  7uise  men  are  not  the  three  friends,  but  the  bystanders  who 
hear  Elihu  ;  cf.  v,  34. 


234  JOB,  XXXIV.  [vv.  3—9. 

And  give  ear  unto  me,  ye  that  have  knowledge. 

For  the  ear  tricth  words, 

As  the  mouth  tasteth  meat. 

Let  us  choose  to  us  judgment: 

Let  us  know  among  ourselves  what  is  good. 

For  Job  hath  said,  I  am  righteous: 

And  God  hath  taken  away  my  judgment. 

Should  I  lie  against  my  right  ? 

My  wound  is  incurable  without  transgression. 

What  man  is  like  Job, 

Who  drinketh  up  scorning  like  water? 

Which  goeth  in  company  with  the  workers  of  iniquity. 

And  walketh  with  wicked  men. 

For  he  hath  said,  It  profiteth  a  man  nothing 

That  he  should  delight  himself  with  God. 


3.  Elihu  makes  his  appeal  to  his  hearers  for  the  car  trieth  words. 
His  appeal  is  to  the  common  reason,  or  to  the  common  reverent  and 
just  thoughts  of  God  in  men.  The  "ear"  is  the  inner  car,  the  under- 
standing, which  is  a  judge  of  sentiments  as  much  as,  or  like  as,  the 
palate  is  a  judge  of  meats,  ch.  xii.  11. 

4.  The  word  Judgment  means  right,  or,  the  right,  the  just  decision 
in  the  cause  under  consideration,  Job's  plea  with  God. 

5 — 9.  Elihu  recites  Job's  statement  of  his  cause  against  God,  ex- 
pressing his  abhorrence  of  Job's  sentiments. 

5.  I  a/?t  righteous\  Or,  in  the  right,  I  have  right  on  my  side. 
myjiidgmcnt^  As  before  means  my  right,  what  is  rightly  due  to  me — 

God  has  dealt  with  me  unjustly;  comp.  ix.   15,  20,  xiii.  18,  xxvii.  2,  6. 

6.  should  I  lie  ai^ainst  viy  right  ?\  This  sense  is  possible,  the 
meaning  being,  "sliall  I  admit  guilt  when  I  am  not  guilty  but  wrongly 
afflicted"?  Perhaps  the  sense  is  rather:  against  {ar,  notwithstanding) 
my  right  I  am  made  to  lie:  when  I  affirm  my  rectitude  God's  treatment 
of  me  belies  my  atfirmations  by  making  me  guilty,  and  this  against  my 
right;  comp.  ch.  ix.  20,  xvi.  8. 

viy  7i/oufid]  lit.  my  arrotv,  the  arrow  of  divine  affliction  infixed  in 
me,  comp.  ch.  vi.  4,  xvi.  13. 

7.  Elihu  cannot  restrain  his  abhorrence  of  Job's  sentiments.  By 
scorning  is  meant  impiety  and  scepticism.  On  the  figure  comp.  ch. 
XV.  16. 

8.  In  expressing  such  opinions  Job  goes  over  to  the  camp  of  the 
professed  ungodly;  comp.  xxii.  15;  Ps.  i.  i. 

9.  Job  had  nowhere  used  this  precise  language,  though  the  idea  is 
not  an  unnatural  inference  from  much  that  he  had  said ;  comp.  ch. 
ix.  22,  xxi.  7,  xxlv.  I,  and  ch.  xxi.  throughout.  This  charge  that  a 
man  is  nothing  bettered  by  being  religious  Elihu  refutes  in  ch.  xxxv., 


vv.  10—13.]  JOB,  XXXIV.  235 

Therefore  hearken  unto  me,  ye  men  of  understanding: 
Far  be  it  from  God,  that  he  should  do  wickedness; 
Ar\dfrom  the  Ahaiighty,  that  he  should  commit  iniquity. 
For  the  work  of  a  man  shall  he  render  unto  him, 
And  cause  every  man  to  find  according  to  his  ways. 
Yea,  surely  God  will  not  do  wickedly, 
Neither  will  the  Almighty  pervert  judgment. 
Who  hath  given  him  a  charge  over  the  earth  ? 
Or  who  hath  disposed  the  whole  world  ? 

directing  his  attention  in  the  meantime  to  the  general  charge  of  in- 
justice so  far  as  it  bore  on  God  Himself. 

10 — 19.  This  charge  of  injustice  Elihu  rebuts,  first,  on  the  general 
ground  of  its  impiety :  God  cannot  be  thought  of  as  acting  in  the  way 
Job  asserted — He  rewardeth  every  man  according  to  his  works  {w. 
10 — 12) ;  and  secojid,  he  then  resolves  the  general  idea  into  two  distinct 
thoughts,  vv.  13 — 15,  and  vv.  16 — 19. 

10 — 12.  Ehhu's  argument  in  these  verses  is  the  truest  answer  that 
can  be  given:  injustice  on  the  part  of  God  is  inconsistent  with  the  idea 
of  God.  The  three  friends  had  urged  the  same  plea.  And  Job  would 
have  accepted  the  argument  had  his  friends  or  himself  been  able  to  take 
it  up  as  a  general  principle  and  keep  it  clear  from  complications  with 
the  events  of  actual  providence.  When,  however,  they  combined  it 
with  their  other  theory  that  good  and  evil  befell  men  solely  according 
to  the  principle  of  retribution,  and  that  this  latter  principle  was  that 
according  to  which  God's  actual  providence  was  entirely  administered, 
Job  could  not  consent  to  their  reasoning.  And  as  he  agreed  with 
them  that  retributive  righteousness  was  or  ought  to  be  the  principle  of 
God's  rule  of  the  world,  he  was  obliged,  as  he  entirely  failed  to 
perceive  such  a  principle  adhered  to,  to  charge  God  with  injustice.  It 
is  not  easy  to  see  how  Elihu  differs  from  the  friends  in  the  position 
which  he  takes  up  here  and  in  vv.  20 — 33.  He  is  concerned  in  the 
meantime,  however,  with  a  theoretical  defence  of  God's  justice. 

13 — 15.  The  first  thought  of  Elihu  is  that  the  earth,  the  world,  is 
not  entrusted  to  God  by  another;  He  himself  arranged  it  all  as  it  is; 
there  is  therefore  no  motive  to  injustice.  This  is  one  side  of  his  idea; 
the  other  [v.  14)  is  that  the  fact  of  the  creation  and  sustaining  of  all  things 
and  creatures  by  God  is  proof  of  unselfish  benevolence,  for  if  God 
thought  of  Himself  and  ceased  to  send  forth  His  spirit,  all  flesh  would 
perish. 

The  Oriental  thinker  was  not  a  pessimist ;  to  his  mind  life  was  not 
an  evil  but  the  highest  good,  and  its  continuance  proof  of  goodness  in 
God  who  gave  it  and  continued  it.  Neither  would  it  occur  to  such  a 
thinker,  when  he  argued  that  there  was  no  temptation  to  injustice  in 
the  Creator,  that  a  temptation  might  be  found  in  His  own  malevolent 
nature.  A  first  cause  that  was  evil  could  not  be  supposed  by  any  one 
in  the  position  of  the  speakers  in  this  Book.     Even  when  Job  touches 


236  JOB,   XXXIV.  [vv.  14—19- 

If  he  set  his  heart  upon  man, 

Ifh.Q  gather  unto  liimsclf  his  spirit  and  his  breatli; 

All  flesh  shall  perish  together, 

And  man  shall  turn  again  unto  dust. 

If  now  t/iou  hast  understanding,  hear  this: 

Hearken  to  the  voice  of  my  words. 

Shall  even  he  that  hateth  right  govern  ? 

And  wilt  thou  condemn  him  that  is  most  just? 
;      Is  it  fit  to  say  to  a  king,  TJiou  art  wicked  ? 

And  to  princes.  Ye  are  ungodly  ? 
I      How  much  less  to  him  that  accepteth  not  the  persons  of 
princes, 

Nor  regardeth  the  rich  more  than  the  poor? 

For  they  all  are  the  work  of  his  hands. 

upon  such  an  idea,  as  in  ch.  vii.  i^j  seq.,  x.  3  seq.,  it  is  for  the  purpose  of 
shewing  the  inconsistency  of  malevolence  with  God's  necessary  attri- 
butes.    Comp.  remarks  at  the  end  of  ch.  x, 

14.  if  he  set  his  heart  ttpon  maii\  lit.  as  marg.  upon  hitn.  The 
interpretation  of  the  A.  V.  is  possible,  the  meaning  being,  if  God  should 
set  His  mind  strictly  on  man,  to  mark  iniquity  and  the  like  (ch.  vii.  17). 
More  probably  the  meaning  is  :  set  His  mind  upon  Himself; — if  He  were 
the  object  of  His  own  exclusive  regard  and  consideration.  If  God 
thought  alone  of  Himself  and  ceased  to  think  of  all  creatures  with  a 
benevolent  consideration,  giving  them  life  and  upholding  by  His  spirit, 
all  flesh  would  perish. 

16 — 19.  The  second  thought :  without  justice  rule  is  impossible ; 
and  therefore  injustice  in  the  supreme  Ruler  is  inconceivable.  The 
thought  is  one  that  finds  repeated  expression  in  Scripture,  as  in  the 
words  of  Abraham,  "Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right?" 
Gen.  xviii.  25,  and  in  those  of  St  Paul,  "Is  God  unrighteous...?  God 
forbid  ;  for  then  how  shall  God  judge  the  world?"  Rom.  iii.  5  ;  comp. 
Matt,  xii.  25. 

17.  condemn  him  that  is  most  jtisfl  Or,  condemn  tlie  just,  the 
mighty  One. 

18.  The  verse  reads. 

Is  it  fit  to  say  to  a  king.  Thou  wicked  ! 

Or  to  princes.  Ye  ungodly  ! 
The  word  "wicked"  means  -n'orthlcss,  Heb.  hdial.  No  doubt  many 
kings,  whether  in  the  past  or  the  present,  might  be  justly  enough  ad- 
dressed as  "wicked,"  and  princes  in  abundance  as  "ungodly,"_but  the 
speaker  is  thinking  here  less  of  persons  than  of  the  ofhces  which  they 
fill  as  rulers.  If  earthly  rule  implies  righteousness,  how  much  more  the 
rule  of  the  Supreme  {v.  19). 

19.  Partiality  or  injustice  is  not  to  be  thought  of  in  God,  for  all  men, 
rich  and  poor,  are  alike  the  work  of  His  hands.     In  these  words  the 


vv.  20— 25.]  JOB,   XXXIV.  237 

/;/  a  moment  shall  they  die,  = 

And  the  people  shall  be  troubled  at  midnight,  and  pass 

away : 
And  the  mighty  shall  be  taken  away  without  hand. 
For  his  eyes  a)-e  upon  the  ways  of  man,  : 

And  he  seeth  all  his  goings. 

There  is  no  darkness,  nor  shadow  of  death,  : 

Where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  themselves. 
For  he  will  not  lay  upon  man  more  tlian  right;  ■■ 

That  he  should  enter  into  judgment  with  God. 
He  shall  break  in  pieces  mighty  men  without  number, 
And  set  others  in  their  stead. 
Therefore  he  knoweth  their  works, 

disputant  makes  the  transition  from  his  principle  to  the  illustration  of 
it  m  God's  actual  rule  of  men,  and  this  illustration  he  pursues  at 
length. 

20 — 28.  God's  strict  justice  may  be  seen  in  His  government  of  the 
peoples  and  their  princes  alike.  His  justice  is  unerring,  for  it  is  guided 
by  omniscient  insight.  Punishing  oppression,  it  avenges  the  cause  of 
the  poor  and  afflicted. 

20.  Display  of  God's  just  rule  over  people  and  princes.  According 
to  the  punctuation  the  verse  is  thus  divided, 

In  a  moment  they  die  and  at  midnight ; 
The  people  are  shaken  and  pass  away, 
And  the  mighty  are  taken  away  without  hand. 
The  phrase  al  midniglit  means  suddenly  and  without  anticipation,  comp. 
V.  25;  Ps.  cxix.  62.      Without  hand,  i.e.  through  no  human  agency,  by 
an  unseen  power,  the  ruling  hand  of  God ;  comp.  ch.  xx.  26;  Dan.  ii. 
34,  35;   Zech.  iv.  6.     The  mighty  are  the  princes,  opposed  to  "the 
people  "  in  the  second  clause. 

21 — 24.  This  just  rule  of  God  operates  unfailingly,  being  guided  by 
infallible  insight. 

23.  The  verse  reads  probably. 

Tor  he  needeth  not  to  consider  a  man  further. 
That  he  should  come  before  God  in  judgment. 
The  meaning  is  that  no  inquisition  on  God's  part  is  needed  of  a  man, 
beyond  his  evil  deed,   with   the  view  of  bringing  him  before  God  in 
judgment.     God  beholds  all,  and   His  insight  and  judgment  operate 
simultaneously. 

24.  he  shall  break... 'ivithoiU  niunhcr'\  Rather,  he  breaketh... with- 
out inquisition.  The  verse  amplifies  the  conception  of  the  preceding 
verse. 

25 — 27.  Armed  with  such  omniscient  insight  {therefore,  v.  25)  He 
knoweth  men's  works,  and  His  judgment  overtakes  them  without  fail. 


238  JOB,   XXXIV.  [vv.  26—29. 

And  he  overturneth  tJiem  in  the  night,  so  that  they  are 

destroyed. 
He  striketh  them  as  wicked  men 
In  the  open  sight  of  others; 
Because  they  turned  back  from  him, 
And  would  not  consider  any  of  his  ways : 
So  that  they  cause  the  cry  of  the  poor  to  come  unto  him, 
And  he  heareth  the  cry  of  the  afflicted. 
When  he  giveth  quietness,  who  then  can  make  trouble? 
And  when  he  hideth  Ids  face,  who  then  can  behold  him  ? 
Whether  it  be  done  against  a  nation, 
Or  against  a  man  only: 

28.  so  that  tJicy  cause  the  cry]  Rather,  thus  lie  causeth  the  cry  of 
the  poor  to  come  before  Him ;  lit.  /o  cause  (or,  causing)  /o  come.  The 
words  sum  up  the  general  purpose  (or,  effect)  of  God's  destructive 
judgments  on  the  oppressors;  He  thus  brings  before  Him  and  hears  the 
cry  of  the  afflicted. 

29 — 33.  The  connexion  of  the  following  verses  is  rather  uncertain. 
The  sense  of  ^'.  30  might  suggest  the  connexion  of  vv.  29 — 30  with  the 
preceding.  In  this  case  v.  31  woukl  make  a  new  start,  and  the  con- 
nexion would  be  maintained  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  z'v.  34—37  should  be  taken  by  themselves.  In  v.  29  the 
word  /le  is  emphatic  ;  similarly  in  z/.  31  an  emphasis  falls  on  God.  This 
common  emphasis,  in  vv.  29 — 30  on  the  absoluteness  of  God's  opera- 
tion and  in  vi'.  31 — 33  on  the  presumption  of  any  one  who  questions  it, 
seems  to  bind  these  two  groups  of  verses  together.  The  verses  read  as 
a  whole, 

29.  When  he  giveth  quietness,  who  shall  condemn  him  ? 
And  when  he  hideth  his  face,  who  shall  behold  him  ? 
Whether  it  be  done  to  a  nation  or  to  a  man  alike  : 

30.  That  the  godless  man  reign  not. 
That  the  jieople  be  not  ensnared. 

31.  For  hath  any  said  unto  God, 

I  have  borne  (chastisement)  though  I  offend  not, 

32.  That  which  I  see  not  teach  thou  me. 

If  I  have  done  iniquity  I  will  do  it  no  more? — 

33.  Shall  God's  recompense  be  according  to  thy  mind 
That  thou  dost  reject  it? 

For  thou  must  choose,  and  not  I ; 

Therefore  speak  what  thou  knowest. 
29.  Here  //e,  God,  is  emphatic.  Elihu  while  upholding  tlic  recti- 
tude of  God  conjoins  with  it  Ilis  sovereignty.  To  ^tve  quietness  or  rest 
seems  to  mean  to  give  peace  and  security  from  oppression,  when  the 
oppressed  cry  unto  Him  (Judg.  v.  31;  Is.  xiv.  7).  The  antithesis  to 
this  is  He  hides  His  face,  words  which  always  mean,  He  withdraws  His 


vv.  30-33-] JOB,  XXXIV. 239 

That  the  hypocrite  reign  not,  3° 

Lest  the  people  be  ensnared. 

Surely  it  is  meet  to  be  said  unto  God,  31 

I  have  borne  chastisement,  I  will  not  offend  any  more: 

That  which  I  see  not  teach  thou  me :  32 

If  I  have  done  iniquity,  I  will  do  no  more. 

Should  it  be  according  to  thy  mind?  he  will  recompense  it,  33 

Whether  thou  refuse,  or  whether  thou  choose;  and  not  1: 

Therefore  speak  what  thou  k newest. 

favour  or  help  in  anger,  ch.  xiii.  24  ;  and  to  beJiold  Him  has  of  course 
a  sense  the  opposite  of  this,  viz.  to  obtain  His  favour,  to  make  Him 
gracious.  God  acts  in  both  ways  in  His  sovereign  rule,  and  when  He 
acts  in  the  one  way  who  shall  condemn  Him,  and  in  the  other  who 
shall  compel  Him  to  alter  His  aspect?  And  thus  He  acts  on  the 
widest  stage  and  in  the  most  particular  instance,  with  nations  and  men 
alike. 

30.  His  operations  are  directed  by  the  great  purpose  of  the  good  of 
men,  that  the  nations  be  righteously  and  mercifully  ruled. 

31 — 33.  Elihu  gradually  approaches  the  conduct  of  Job.  He  sup- 
poses the  case  of  one  animadverting  on  the  Divine  procedure  and  com- 
]3laining  of  unjust  affliction.  This  is  presumption  and  implies  that  one 
usurps  ihe  government  of  the  Most  High. 

31,  32.  A  supposition  is  put :  Has  any  one  said  unto  God  ?  where 
God  is  emphatic,  the  emphasis  implying  the  unseemliness  and  presump- 
tion of  the  act.  .The  case  is  put  generally,  but  the  case  is  that  of  Job, 
as  V.  33  reveals.  The  meaning  of  the  passage  is  that  the  complainer 
under  affliction  protests  his  innocence  {v.  31);  disclaims  knowledge  of 
any  offence;  desires,  as  Job  frequently  expressed  his  desire,  to  know 
what  his  sin  was  ;  and  professes  his  readiness  to  desist  from  it,  when  it 
is  made  clear  to  him  (v.  32). 

33.  Elihu's  answer  to  this  complaint  is  that  it  is  a  claim  to  regulate 
the  government  of  God,  to  give  laws  to  Him  how  He  shall  act,  and  to 
decide  how  He  shall  recompense.  Such  a  position  the  complainer 
takes — but  for  himself  Elihu  repudiates  it :  I'hoii  must  choose,  not  I. 
In  the  concluding  words,  speak  that  zvhich  thou  knowest,  Elihu  invites 
Job  to  state  that  method  of  "recompense"  which  shall  be  "according 
to  his  mind"  and  better  than  that  observed  in  God's  rule  of  the 
world. 

The  above  seems  the  most  natural  interpretation  to  put  on  this  diffi- 
cult passage.  The  A.  V.,  in  rendering  surely  it  is  meet  to  be  said  (v.  31), 
assumes  an  irregularity  of  punctuation  which  is  very  improbable.  And 
to  regard  vv.  31,  32  as  a  serious  confession  and  example  of  how  a  right- 
minded  man  would  speak  greatly  impairs  the  vigour  of  the  passage,  and 
gives  a  much  looser  connexion  with  v.  33. 

34 — 37.  The  verdict  regarding  Job's  demeanour  which  all  men  of 
understanding  and  those  who  listen  to  Elihu  will  give, 


240  JOB,  XXXIV.  [vv.  34-37. 

:4      Let  men  of  understanding  tell  me, 
And  let  a  wise  man  hearken  unto  me. 

35  Job  hath  spoken  without  knowledge. 
And  his  words  liiere  without  wisdom. 

36  My  desire  is  that  Job  may  be  tried  unto  the  end 
Because  of  his  answers  for  wicked  men. 

37  For  he  addeth  rebellion  unto  his  sin, 
He  clappeth  his  hands  amongst  us, 
And  multiplieth  his  words  against  God. 

34.  ]\Ten  of  understanding  will  say  unto  me, 
And  the  wise  man  who  heareth  me  : 

35.  Job  speaketh  without  knowledge, 
And  his  words  are  without  wisdom. 

36.  Would  that  Job  were  tried  unto  the  end, 

Because  of  his  answers  in  the  manner  of  wicked  men. 

36.  It  is  not  certain  whether  v.  36  be  a  continuation  of  the  judg- 
ment of  Elihu's  hearers  or  be  his  own  words.  The  sentiment  is  ex- 
cessively harsh,  and  probably  Elihu,  though  of  course  concurring  in  it, 
puts  it  forth  indirectly  as  the  judgment  of  others.  The  wish  is  ex- 
pressed that  Job  might  be  tried  unto  the  end,  constantly — that  his  afflic- 
tions might  be  continued  till  he  should  give  over  answering  in  the 
manner  of  wicked  men.  His  "answers"  are  his  speeches  in  reply  to 
the  three  friends,  which  are  characterized  as  such  as  only  ungodly  men 
would  utter. 

37.  Job's  sin  is  that  of  his  former  life,  for  which  he  has  been  cast 
into  afflictions ;  his  rebellion  is  his  unsubmissive,  defiant  demeanour 
against  God  in  his  speeches.  This  "rebellion"  is  further  described  as 
clapping  of  t/ie /lands,  a  gesture  of  open  mockery  and  contempt.  The 
next  clause,  "multiplieth  his  words  against  God,"  that  is,  his  rebellious 
speeches,  indicates  that  it  is  against  God  that  Job  "claps  his  hands," 
not  against  his  friends  and  counsellors — ^he  shews  his  defiant  scorn  of 
God  among  them. 

The  passage  is  decisive  as  to  the  position  taken  by  Elihu  towards 
Job.  liis  judgment  of  Job  extends  far  beyond  the  mere  bearing  of  the 
latter  under  his  afflictions ;  it  embraces  Job's  former  life.  And  the 
language  exceeds  in  harshness  almost  anything  that  the  three  friends 
had  said. 

Ch.  XXXV.  Eliiiu's  Third  Reply  to  Job.  Job's  complaint 
that  a  man  is  in  no  way  profited  by  his  righteousness 
more  than  if  he  had  sinned  is  made  without  knowledge. 
Neither  righteousness  nor  sin  affects  God  ;  their  in- 
fluence MUST  BE  FELT  AMONG  MEN.  APPARENT  EXCEPTIONS 
CAN    BE   EXPLAINED. 

Job's  complaint  that  under  God's  government  of  the  world  it  availed 


vv.  1—3.]  JOB,  XXXV.  241 

Elihu  spake  moreover,  and  said,  35 

Thinkest  thou  this  to  be  right,  2 

That  thou  saidst,  My  righteousness  is  more  than  God'i  ? 
For  thou  saidst,  What  advantage  will  it  be  unto  thee  ?        3 
And,  What  profit  shall  I  have,  if  I  be  dea?ised  from  my 
sin? 

a  man  nothing  to  be  righteous,  to  which  Elihu  had  referred,  ch.  xxxiv. 
9,  is  now  taken  up  and  disposed  of. 

The  passage  has  three  parts  : — 

First,  vv.  I — 4,  Ehhu  states  Job's  complaint  that  godliness  avails 
a  man  nothing,  and  undertakes  to  answer  it. 

Second,  vv.  5 — 8,  his  answer.  Neither  godliness  nor  irreligiousness 
can  affect  God,  who  is  too  exalted  to  be  touched  by  anything  human. 
Their  influence  therefore  must  be  on  men,  to  their  advantage  or  hurt. 

Third,  zrv.  9 — 16,  having  made  this  philosophical  retort,  Elihu  pro- 
ceeds to  dispose  of  some  cases  that  might  seem  exceptions  to  his  prin- 
ciple or  anomalies.  There  are  cases  where  apparently  religious  men 
are  not  heard  when  they  cry  to  God :  men  cry  out  because  of  oppres- 
sion and  there  is  no  answer.  But  why?  Because  they  cry  amiss. 
Their  appeal  to  heaven  is  the  mere  instinctive  cry  of  suffering  like  that 
of  the  lower  creatures,  without  trust  in  God — they  say  not.  Where  is 
God  my  Maker? 

And  the  controversialist  ends  as  in  ch.  xxxiv.  with  a  charge  of  foolish 
talk  against  Job. 

2 — 4.  Statement  of  Job's  charge  against  God  that  under  His  rule  of 
the  world  to  be  righteous  is  no  advantage  to  a  man.  The  verses 
read, 

2.  Thinkest  thou  this  to  be  thy  right, 

And  callest  thou  it.  My  just  cause  against  God, 

3.  That  thou  sayest.  What  advantage  hast  thou  ? 

And,  What  am  I  profited  more  than  if  I  had  sinned? 
Throughout  Elihu's  speeches  there  runs  the  idea  of  a  cause  or  plea 
between  Job  and  God.  Job  is  regarded  by  him  as  maintaining  that  he 
has  a  right  or  just  cause  against  God.  Elihu  here  asks  if  Job  considers 
that  the  rectitude  of  his  cause  will  appear  in  his  maintaining  that  god- 
liness profits  a  man  nothing? — the  word  this  in  v.  2  refers  to  the  ques- 
tions in  V.  3.  If  Job  could  successfully  maintain  this  contention  his  cause 
against  God  would  be  good.  Therefore  Elihu  controverts  his  assertion, 
contending  that  righteousness  does  avail  a  man,  as  it  must.  Both  parties 
conduct  the  dispute  in  a  somewhat  external  way,  meaning  by  the 
"advantage  "  of  religion  the  possession  of  outward  goods  and  immunity 
from  suffering.  Job  does  this  of  necessity,  because  he  is  still  entangled 
in  the  old  theory  of  retribution,  though  he  is  breaking  through  its 
meshes  on  one  side.  And  Elihu  in  his  theoretical  argument  naturally 
follows  him,  without  referring  to  the  deeper  comforts  of  religion,  the  joy 
in  God,  with  which  some  of  the  Psalmists  delight  themselves  in  afSic- 
tion,  Ps.  xvii,  15,  Ixxiii.  23  sei^. 

JOB  16 


242  JOB,   XXXV.  [vv.  4— 9. 

I  will  answer  thee, 

And  thy  companions  with  thee. 

Look  unto  the  heavens,  and  see; 

And  be'nold  the  clouds  ivhich  are  higher  than  thou. 

If  thou  sinnest,  what  doest  thou  against  him  ? 

Or  if  thy  transgressions  be  multipUed,  what  doest  thou 

unto  him  ? 
If  thou  be  righteous,  what  givest  thou  him  ? 
Or  what  receiveth  he  of  thine  hand  ? 
Thy  wickedness  viay  hurt  a  man  as  thou  art ; 
And  thy  righteousness  may  profit  the  son  of  man. 
By  reason  of  the  multitude  of  oppressions  they  make  the 

oppressed  to  cry : 

4.  The  "companions"  of  Job  referred  to  in  this  verse  can  hardly 
be  the  three  friends,  for  Eliphaz  (ch.  xxii.  i)  had  advanced  substantially 
the  same  answer  to  Job  as  is  here  given,  which  even  Job  himself  had 
touched  upon,  ch.  vii.  20,  though  with  a  different  purpose.  Most  pro- 
bably Job  is  considered  here  the  centre  of  a  circle  of  persons  who  che- 
rished the  same  irreligious  doubts  in  regard  to  God's  providence  as 
he  did. 

5 — 8.  The  reply  of  Elihu  to  Job's  complaint.  A  glance  at  heaven, 
the  infinitely  exalted  abode  of  God,  must  tell  us  that  our  conduct  whe- 
ther good  or  bad  cannot  affect  Iliin.  Our  righteousness  confers  no 
profit  on  Him,  neither  does  our  wickedness  entail  any  loss.  It  is  men 
themselves  that  their  conduct  affects.  It  is  in  human  life  that  the 
influence  of  righteousness  or  evil-doing  is  seen.  And  being  so  eternally 
unlike  they  cannot  have  the  same  effect. 

Elihu  does  not  contemplate  any  one  going  so  far  as  to  maintain  that 
godliness  and  unrighteousness  do  not  ditter  in  themselves.  Job  as- 
sumes and  most  strongly  asserts  their  difference.  He  even  rises  to  the 
sublime  height  of  resolving  to  adhere  to  righteousness  though  God  and 
men  should  shew  their  indifference  to  it  (ch.  xvii.  9).  And  what  he 
complains  of  is  that  God  is  indifferent  to  it,  and  that  in  His  government 
the  righteous  is  treated  as  the  wicked.  This  is  the  point  which  Elihu 
touches. 

8.  The  verse  reads  literally  :  thy  wickedness  is  to  (touches,  affects) 
a  man  as  thou  art,  and  thy  righteousness  is  to  one  of  mankind,  i.e.  thy- 
self who  art  a  man ;  for  it  cannot  touch  God  who  is  exalted  above  such 
influence. 

9 — 15.  Having  laid  down  his  principle  Elihu  now  proceeds  to  clear 
away  some  anomalies  which  seem  to  support  Job's  contention.  There 
are  instances  where  godliness  does  not  seem  to  advantage  men,  where 
oppressed  innocence  cries  in  vain  for  redress.  The  reason  is  that  the 
cry  is  merely  the  natural  voice  of  suffering  ;  it  is  no  true  devout  appeal 
to  heaven — none  saith,  Where  is  God  my  maker  ? 

9.  they  make  the  oppressed  to  cry]     Rather,  man  cry  out  because 


vv.  10—14.]  JOB,  XXXV.  243 

They  cry  out  by  reason  of  the  arm  of  the  mighty. 

But  none  saith,  Where  is  God  my  Maker,  10 

Who  giveth  songs  in  the  night; 

Who  teacheth  us  more  than  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  n 

And  maketh  us  wiser  than  the  fowls  of  heaven  ? 

There  they  cry,  but  none  giveth  answer,  12 

Because  of  the  pride  of  evil  men. 

Surely  God  will  not  hear  vanity,  13 

Neither  will  the  Almighty  regard  it. 

Although  thou  sayest  thou  shalt  not  see  him,  14 

yi?/ judgment  is  before  him;  therefore  trust  thou  in  him. 

of  tlie  multitude  of  oppressions — •which  powerful  and  cruel  men  lay 
upon  them  {v.  12).     This  is  the  anomaly. 

10.  The  explanation  of  the  anomaly. 

Where  is  God]     The  language  of  one  devoutly  seeking  God. 

songs  in  (he  night]  They  seek  not  God  in  truth,  who  by  sudden  de- 
liverances (comp.  ch.  xxxiv.  20,  25)  fills  the  mouth  of  the  afflicted  with 
singing,  Ps.  xxxii.  7. 

11.  God  has  given  to  men  a  higher  wisdom  than  to  the  beasts,  and 
communicates  to  them  a  continuous  instruction  through  His  fellowship 
and  ways.  Their  appeal  to  heaven  should  not  be  the  mere  instinctive 
cry  of  suffering,  but  the  voice  of  trust  and  submission. 

12.  The  first  and  last  words  of  the  verse  are  in  connexion  :  "  they 
cry  because  of  the  pride  of  evil  men,  but  none  giveth  answer."  They 
remain  unheard  because  their  cry  is  "vanity"  {v.  13). 

14 — 16.  The  interpretation  and  connexion  of  these  verses  is  difficult. 
V.  14  might  carry  on  the  idea  oiv.  13, 

13.  Surely  God  will  not  hear  vanity, 
Neither  will  the  Almighty  regard  it ; 

14.  Much  less  when  thou  sayest,  Thou  seest  him  not, 
The  cause  is  before  him  and  thou  waitest  for  him. 

God  refuses  to  answer  the  cry  which  is  vanity,  not  the  voice  of  true 
religious  trust;  much  less  will  He  hear  one  who  like  Job  complains 
that  he  cannot  see  Him  (ch.  xxiii.  8  and  often),  who  misses  His  right- 
eous government  in  the  world  and  charges  Him  with  refusing  to  receive 
his  just  appeal  (ch.  xiii.  18  seq.,  xxiii.  3,  xxxi.  35  seq.).  There  are  ob- 
jections to  this  interpretation,  such  as  that  much  less  when  is  not  a 
natural  translation  of  the  words  in  v.  14,  though  in  the  elliptical  and 
rather  strained  style  of  Elihu  this  might  not  go  for  much.  Or,  v.  14 
might  stand  apart  from  v.  13, 

Yea,  when  thou  sayest,  Thou  seest  him  not. 
The  cause  is  before  him;  therefore  wait  thou  for  him. 
the  meaning  being  that  though  God  appears  indifferent  to  the  cry  of 
the  distressed  (z'Z'.  9,  12)  He  is  not  unaware  of  the  evil,  the  cause  has  come 
before  Him,  or,  His  judgment  upon  it  is  determined,  and  therefore  He 

16 — 2 


244  JOB,   XXXV.  [vv.  15,  16. 

But  now,  because  //  is  not  so,  he  hath  visited  in  his  anger; 
Yet  he  knoweth  //  not  in  great  extremity : 
Therefore  doth  Job  open  his  mouth  in  vain; 
He  niultipheth  words  without  knowledge. 

is  to  be  waited  for  till  He  manifest  Himself  by  His  just  interposition. 
Though  the  second  person  i/wu  be  used,  Job's  own  case  does  not 
appear  to  be  referred  to ;  Elihu  speaks  generally,  and  Job  is  merely 
addressed  as  an  example  of  persons  who  complain  of  God's  indifference 
to  wrong-doing. 

15.  This  verse  is  very  obscure,  and  the  A.  V.  competes  worthily 
with  the  original  in  darkness.  The  word  translated  extremity  does 
not  occur  again,  and,  if  it  be  a  word  at  all  and  not  a  mere  error  of 
copyists  (the  Sept.  read  ^'transgression^'),  its  meaning  can  only  be 
guessed  at.  The  connexion,  however,  suggests  what  general  meaning 
the  expression  must  have.  Perhaps  the  easiest  way  to  construe  the  verse 
is  to  take  it  in  connexion  with  v.  16, 

15.  But  now  because  his  anger  visiteth  not, 
And  he  doth  not  strictly  regard  transgression, 

16.  Therefore  doth  Job  open  his  mouth  in  vanity, 
He  multiplieth  words  without  knowledge. 

Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedily  (Eccles. 
viiL  11),  and  God  seems  as  if  He  took  no  knowledge  of  wrong  and 
oppression,  therefore  Job  draws  the  futile  conclusion  (tjv.  2,  3),  that 
there  is  no  advantage  in  being  righteous  more  than  in  sinning.  Elihu 
has  already  accounted  for  God's  refusal  to  interpose  on  very  different 
grounds  (vv.  10 — 13),  grounds  which  Job  would  do  well  to  lay  to  heart. 
The  word  rendered  "extremity"  (fash)  may  have  a  correspondent  in 
the  Arab,  fashsha  of  which  Lane  says,  '■'fashsha  is  syii.  with  fdsha 
as  meaning.  He  gloried  or  boasted  and  magnified  himself,  imagining 
[in  himself)  what  he  did  not  possess."  This  would  suggest  such  a 
meaning  as  pride  or  arrogancy. 

Though  this  construction  of  z'.  15  is  simple  it  is  doubtful  if  it  be  the 
true  one.  V.  16  certainly  looks  independent,  and  if  so  v.  15  is  also 
complete  in  itself, 

Bat  now  because  his  anger  visiteth  not. 
Therefore  he  careth  nothing  for  transgression ! 
the  second  clause  expressing  the  conclusion  which  Job  draws  from 
God's  inactivity  and  His  refraining  to  punish  (first  clause),  namely  that 
God  was  indifferent  to  evil,  or  as  expressed  in  w.  ■2,  3,  that  righteous- 
ness was  of  no  profit  to  a  man  more  than  sin.  The  sense  remains  the 
same  as  on  the  other  construction.  And  v.  16,  as  before,  expresses 
Elihu's  verdict  regarding  Job, 

Nay,  Job  openeth  his  mouth  in  vanity, 
He  multiplieth  words  without  knowledge. 

CiiAP.  XXXVL— XXXVH.   .Elihu's  Fourth  Speech. 

In  his  former  speeches  Elihu  was  more  theoretical,  being  intent  upon 
correcting  the  false  principles  in  regard  to  God  enunciated  by  Job  (see 


vv.  I,  2.]  JOB,   XXXVI  245 

Elihu  also  proceeded,  and  said,  36 

Suffer  me  a  little,  and  I  will  shew  thee  2 

That  I  have  yet  to  speak  on  God's  behalf. 

headings  to  ch.  xxxiii.,  xxxiv.,  xxxv.);  in  his  present  speech  he  is  more 
practical  and  hortatory.  He  keeps  still  before  him  the  same  great 
object,  namely  to  present  just  thoughts  of  God ;  but  having  in  the 
former  speeches  corrected  the  false  ideas  of  Job  he  proceeds  now,  more 
positively,  to  present  his  own  elevated  conceptions  of  the  Creator. 

The  object  of  the  passage  is  to  extol  the  greatness  of  God  in  all  His 
operations,  both  among  men  and  in  the  world.  Thus  the  passage  falls 
into  two  parts, 

First,  ch.  xxxvi.  i — 25;  in  which  the  greatness  of  God  in  His  provi- 
dential treatment  of  men  is  extolled.  Here  the  speaker  gives  a  fuller 
statement  of  his  theory  of  the  meaning  of  the  afflictions  sent  on  men  by 
God  {vv.  I — 15);  and  exhorts  Job  to  recognise  God's  purpose  in  his 
sufferings,  and  to  unite  with  all  men  in  exalting  Him. 

Second,  ch.  xxxvi.  26 — ch.  xxxvii. ;  in  which  the  greatness  and 
wisdom  and  unsearchableness  of  God,  as  these  are  manifested  in  the 
phenomena  of  the  heavens,  are  magnified  (ch.  xxxvi.  26 — xxxvii.  13); 
and  Job  is  exhorted  to  lay  these  great  wonders  to  heart,  and  bow 
beneath  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  who  far  transcends  man's  com- 
prehension (ch.  xxxvii.  14 — 24). 

Chap.  XXXVI.    i — 25.    God's  gracious  designs  in  afflicting 

MEN  ;    and    exhortation    TO    JOB    TO    UNITE   WITH   ALL   MEN 
IN    EXTOLLING  HiS   GREATNESS. 

First,  vv.  I — 4.  In  some  words  of  introduction  Elihu  beseeches  Job 
to  listen  to  him  still  further,  for  he  has  yet  something  to  say  on  God's 
behalf;  and  he  will  speak  what  is  true,  for  he  has  perfect  knowledge. 

Second,  vv.  5 — 15.  Then  he  proceeds  to  his  theme,  the  greatness  of 
God.  This  is  a  greatness  of  mind  and  understanding,  which  does  not 
despise  the  weak,  but  rules  all  with  goodness  and  wisdom.  Afflictions 
are  but  instances  of  this  gracious  wisdom,  for  by  them  He  opens  the  ear 
of  men  to  instruction. 

Third,  vv.  16 — 25,  application  of  this  doctrine  of  the  meaning  of 
afflictions  to  Job — God  is  through  them  alluring  him  into  a  prosperous 
and  happy  life.  And  the  speaker  adds  a  warning  against  murmuring, 
and  an  exhortation  to  adore  and  magnify  as  all  men  do  the  great  God. 

1 — 4.  Introductory  :  Ehhu  desires  Job  to  hear  him  still  further.  He 
has  still  more  to  say  in  God's  behalf;  and  it  is  not  trivial  or  common- 
place, either  in  its  object— for  he  will  ascribe  right  to  his  Maker;  nor 
in  itself,  for  he  is  one  perfect  in  knowledge. 

2.     The  verse  reads, 

Suffer  me  a  little  and  I  will  shew  thee; 
For  I  have  somewhat  still  to  say  on  God's  behalf. 
The  first  words  are  lit.  luait  for  ?ne  a  little. 


246  JOB,   XXXVI.  fvv.  3—7. 

I  will  fetch  my  knowledge  from  afar, 

And  will  ascribe  righteousness  to  my  Maker. 

For  truly  my  words  shall  not  be  false : 

He  that  is  perfect  in  knowledge  is  with  thee. 

Behold,  God  is  mighty,  and  despiseth  not  a7iy : 

He  is  mighty  in  strength  and  wisdom. 

He  preserveth  not  the  life  of  the  wicked : 

But  giveth  right  to  the  poor. 

He  withdraweth  not  his  eyes  from  the  righteous : 

But  with  kings  are  they  on  the  throne ; 

Yea,  he  doth  establish  them  for  ever,  and  they  are  exalted. 

3.  froiii  afar]  lie  will  speak  comprehensively,  embracing  the  distant 
parts  of  the  subject  in  his  survey,  or  throwing  light  upon  it  from  far-off 
regions. 

righteousness  to  my  Maker]  Eliliu  gives  here  in  a  word  the  ruling 
idea  of  his  discourses :  they  are  all  meant  to  ascribe  rightfiousness  or 
right  to  God;  they  are  a  defence  of  God  against  the  charges  of  Job, 
The  expression  rendered  my  Maker  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the 
Old  Testament. 

4.  The  speaker  makes  a  higher  claim  than  to  sincerity  here;  he 
claims  the  character  of  absolute  truth  for  his  teaching — he  is  perfect  in 
knowledge.  In  a  slightly  different  form  the  phrase  "  perfect  in  know- 
ledge" is  applied  to  God,  ch.  xxxvii.  16 ;  cf.  i  Sam.  ii.  3. 

5—25.  Elihu's  doctrine  is  in  a  word:  God  is  great  and  despiseth 
not,  He  is  great  in  strength  of  heart.  His  greatness  is  that  of  under- 
standing, which  enables  Him  to  estimate  all  rightly,  to  see  through  all 
right  and  wrong,  and  to  adapt  His  providence  to  the  strong  and  to  the 
weak,  the  evil  and  the  good.  This  thought  with  the  illustrations  of  it, 
vv.  6 — 15,  and  the  application  of  it  to  Job,  w.  i6 — 25,  exhaust  the 
first  half  of  this  concluding  speech. 

5.  a/id  despiseth  not]  Though  God  is  mighty  He  despiseth  or  dis- 
daineth  not,  He  gives  the  weakest  his  rights  as  much  as  the  most 
powerful,  for  they  are  all  the  work  of  His  hand,  ch.  xxxiv.  19.  The  words 
express  Elihu's  conception  of  God,  which  He  opposes  to  the  conception 
of  Job  (e.g.  ch.  vii.  and  often). 

in  strength  and  wisdom]  Rather,  in  strength  of  understanding;  lit. 
of  heart.  It  is  this  perfection  of  understanding,  in  which  God's  great- 
ness consists,  that  makes  it  impossible  that  He  should  "despise"  any. 
To  know  life,  however  mean,  is  to  love  it. 

6.  Illustration  of  the  operation  of  God's  understanding,  giving  to  all 
conditions  of  men  their  due. 

right  to  the  poor]  Rather,  his  right;  poor  may  be,  as  marg.,  ajfiieted. 

V.     The  second  half  of  the  verse  reads, 

But  with  kings  ujion  the  throne 

He  sctteth  them  for  ever,  and  they  are  exalted. 


vv.  8—14.]  JOB,   XXXVI.  247 

And  if  tJiey  be  bound  in  fetters,  £ 

And  be  holden  in  cords  of  affliction; 

Then  he  sheweth  them  their  work,  5 

And  their  transgressions  that  they  have  exceeded. 

He  openeth  also  their  ear  to  discipline,  _  j 

And  commandeth  that  they  return  from  iniquity. 

If  they  obey  and  serve  him,  1 

They  shall  spend  their  days  in  prosperity, 

And  their  years  in  pleasures. 

But  if  they  obey  not,  j 

They  shall  perish  by  the  sword, 

And  they  shall  die  without  knowledge. 

But  the  hypocrites  in  heart  heap  up  wrath :  1 

They  cry  not  when  he  bindeth  them. 

They  die  in  youth,  ' 

And  their  life  is  among  the  unclean. 

God's  careful  providence   especially  keeps  the   righteous,   whom    He 
exalts  to  the  loftiest  stations,  i  Sam.  ii.  8;  Ps.  cxiii.  7  seq. 

8 — 10.  If  life  often  appears  to  present  a  different  picture  and  men 
are  seen  in  affliction,  this  affliction  is  a  discipline,  needful  to  warn  them 
and  bring  their  evil  before  them. 

8.  The  expression  "fetters"  is  rather  to  be  taken  figuratively, 
meaning  affliction  or  adversity,  as  "cords  of  affliction"  in  the  next 
clause  suggests. 

9 — 10.  The  meaning  of  afflictions — they  are  a  divine  warning  and 
stimulus  to  rouse  men  out  of  a  sinful  lethargy  and  bring  their  sin  to  their 
remembrance. 

9.  that  they  have  exceeded]  Or,  have  dealt  proudly,  ch.  xxxiii.  17. 

11,  12.  Such  afflictions,  though  graciously  meant,  may  have  dif- 
ferent issues  according  as  men  receive  them.  On  the  expression  "the 
sword"  in  J/.  12  see  ch.  xxxiii.  18. 

13, 14.  Such  afflictions  indeed  are  sometimes  the  means  of  revealing 
what  character  men  are  of,  ch.  v.  2. 

13.  hypocrites  in  heart]  Rather,  godless  in  heart;  comp.  ch.  viii. 
13. 

heap  up  wrath]  Rather,  lay  up  anger,  i.e.  in  their  hearts,  Ps.  xiii.  2  ; 
Prov.  xxvi.  24 ;  they  cherish  anger  at  the  Divine  discipline  (ch.  v.  1). 
The  "  wrath"  or  anger  referred  to  is  their  own,  not  that  of  God  (Rom.  ii. 
5).     The  phrase  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 

14.  They  die]  lit.  their  soul  dieth.  They  perish  in  the  midst  of  their 
days. 

is  among  the  unclean]  Or,  perlsheth  among  the  unclean,  i.e.  hke 
the  unclean.  They  die  prematurely  or  in  debasement  like  the  hierodoitloi 
in  the  temples  of  Baal  comp.  i  Kings  xiv.  24,  xv.  12. 


248  JOB,   XXXVI.  [vv.  15—17. 

He  delivereth  the  poor  in  his  affliction, 

And  openeth  their  ears  in  oppression. 

Even  so  would  he  have  removed  thee  out  of  the  strait 

Into  a  broad  place,  where  there  is  no  straitness; 

And  that  which  sliould  be  set  on  thy  table  should  he  full 

of  fatness. 
But  thou  hast  fulfilled  the  judgment  of  the  wicked: 
Judgment  and  justice  take  hold  on  thee. 

15.  The  verse  goes  back  to  the  great  general  principle  of  the  use  of 
affliction  in  God's  hand  {v.  8  seq^,  in  order  to  connect  with  it  the  case 
of  Job,  and  to  found  an  e.xhortation  to  him  upon  it  {^.  16  scq.).  The 
word  in  affliction,  in  oppression,  might  mean  through  affliction,  &c. 

16 — 25.  AppUcation  to  Job  of  the  principles  in  regard  to  affliction 
just  enunciated  by  Elihu. 

Verses  16—19  are  difficult  and  have  been  understood  in  a  great  variety 
of  ways.  The  general  sense  expressed  by  the  A.  V.  is  probably  correct, 
unless  probability  be  considered  too  strong  a  term  to  employ  of  any 
rendering. 

16.  Even  so  doth  he  allure  thee  out  of  the  mouth  of  distress 
Into  a  broad  place,  where  there  is  no  straitness ; 

And  that  which  is  set  on  thy  table  shall  be  full  of  fatness. 

17.  But  if  thou  art  filled  with  the  judgment  of  the  wicked, 
Judgment  and  justice  shall  keep  hold  on  thee. 

18.  For  beware  lest  wrath  entice  thee  into  scorning, 

And  let  not  the  greatness  of  the  ransom  lead  thee  astray. 

19.  Will  thy  riches  suffice,  without  stint? 
Or  all  the  forces  of  wealth? 

Many  objections  may  be  urged  against  this  rendering,  as  may  be  against 
any  rendering  that  can  be  proposed. 

16.  The  words  evc7t  so  connect  Job's  case  with  the  general  principles 
in  regard  to  suffering  just  inculcated  by  Elihu.  The  figures  of  "strait- 
ness" and  "  broad  place"  are  usual  for  affliction  and  prosperity,  of. 
ch.  xviii.  7.  The  figure  of  a  plenteous  table  is  also  common,  Ps.  xxiil,  5. 
The  speaker  does  not  say  by  what  means  God  is  alluring  the  sufferer 
out  of  the  mouth  or  jaws  of  distress  into  a  broad  place.  He  means 
probably  the  disciplining  effects  of  the  distress  itself,  unless  the  "dis- 
tress" here  refer  to  a  future,  greater  evil,  from  which  Job's  present 
aflliction  is  designed  to  save  him.     Comp.,  however,  ch.  xxxiii.  14 — 28. 

17.  The  A.  V.  takes  this  verse  positively  ;  it  is  more  suitable  to  the 
connexion  and  purpose  of  the  speaker  to  understand  it  conditionally — 
if  thou  art  filled  ivith,  or  as  A.  V.  fulfillest.  To  be  full  of,  or  to  fulfil, 
the  judgment  of  the  wicked,  is  to  join  the  wicked  in  their  judgment  of 
God  when  He  afflicts,  to  lay  up  wrath  against  God  {v,  13),  an  idea 
immediately  taken  up  in  v.  18.  If  Job  acts  in  this  way,  as  he  is  too 
much  inclined  (?'.  21),  then  judgment  and  justice  shall  keep  hold  on 
him.     God's  condemnation  of  him  will  reveal  itself  in  the  continuance 


vv.  18—20.]  JOB,   XXXVI.  249 

Because  there  is  wrath,  beware  lest  he  take  thee  away  .8 

with  his  stroke : 
Then  a  great  ransom  cannot  deliver  thee. 
Will  he  esteem  thy  riches  ?  710,  not  gold,  19 

Nor  all  the  forces  of  strength. 

Desire  not  the  night,  20 

When  people  are  cut  off  in  their  place. 

and  increase  of  his  chastisement  (cf.  w.  13,  14,  ch.  v.  1  seq^.  The 
word  "judgment"  is  used  in  the  one  clause  of  man's,  and  in  the  other 
of  God's  judgment,  making  a  forcible  antithesis. 

18.  In  this  verse  wrath  appears  to  be  that  of  Job,  as  "  anger,"  v.  13. 
Elihu  warns  him  against  allowing  it  to  entice  him  into  rebellion  against 
God,  comp.  ch.  xxxiv.  37.  The  A.  V.  takes  "wrath"  as  that  of  God, 
visible  in  Job's  afflictions.  This  gives  a  good  parallel  to  the  "great- 
ness of  the  ransom"  in  the  next  clause.  Elihu's  doctrine,  however,  is 
that  afflictions  are  not  the  expression  of  God's  wrath  but  of  His  dis- 
ciplinary mercy;  and  his  great  object  is  to  warn  Job  against  putting 
this  false  construction  on  God's  dealing  with  him ;  cf.  ch.  xxxiii.  through- 
out, ch.  xxxvi.  5. 

In  the  second  clause  he  warns  Job  against  being  led  astray  by  the 
greatness  of  the  ransom,  by  which  he  means  Job's  severe  afflictions ; 
cf.  ch.  xxxiii.  ■24. 

19.  No  other  ransom  will  avail, — not  riches  nor  all  the  power  of 
wealth.  Only  the  purification  of  suffering  will  cleanse  him  from  his 
evil  (cf  ch.  xxxiv.  36),  and  deliver  him.  Elihu  demands  with  emphasis 
whether  all  his  riches  will  be  accepted  as  a  ransom  ?  It  need  not  be 
said  that  the  question  is  put  merely  for  the  purpose  of  heightening  the 
effect  of  the  idea  in  v.  18,  that  suffering  is  the  only  ransom  possible.  A 
similar  thought  is  expressed  in  Ps.  xlix.  7  :  "  None  of  them  can  by  any 
means  redeem  his  brother,  nor  give  to  God  a  ransom  for  him ;  for  the 
redemption  of  their  soul  is  too  precious  and  it  ceaseth  for  ever." 

The  word  translated  "without  stint"  (Conant)  is  lit.  without  strait- 
ness.  The  word  is  oft^n  used  for  distress  (v,  16),  and  the  clause  might 
be  rendered  :  will  thy  riches  suffice  (lit.  be  equal  to  it,  ch.  xxviii.  19), 
without  distress,  i.e.  such  afflictions  as  those  now  suffered?  This  is 
rather  flat.  The  A.  V.  assumes  that  the  expression  is  the  word  ore  or 
gold,  ch.  xxii.  24,  differently  spelled.  This  assumption  is  both  im- 
probable in  itself  and  contrary  to  the  balance  of  the  verse. 

20 — 21.     Elihu  continues  his  warning  to  Job. 

20.  Desire  not  that  night 

When  the  peoples  are  cut  off  in  their  place ; 

21.  Take  heed,  turn  not  unto  iniquity, 

For  this  thou  choosest  rather  than  affliction. 

20.  The  "night"  is  as  usual  a  figure  for  destruction  and  judgment. 
By  this  destroying  judgment  of  God  nations  are  "taken  away" 
in  their  flace,  Le.  on  the  spot,  suddenly  and  without  power  of  escape; 


250  JOB,   XXXVI.  [vv.  21—25. 

Take  heed,  regard  not  iniquity: 

For  this  hast  thou  chosen  rather  than  affliction. 

Behold,  God  exalteth  by  his  power: 

Who  teacheth  Uke  him  ? 

Who  hath  enjoined  him  his  way? 

Or  who  can  say,  Thou  hast  wrought  iniquity  ? 

Remember  that  thou  magnify  his  work, 

Which  men  behold. 

Every  man  may  see  it ; 

Man  may  behold  //  afar  off. 

and  Job  is  warned  against  desiring,  lit.  panting  for,  such  a  judg- 
ment. Job  had  often  desired  to  meet  God  in  judgment,  and  there 
may  be  a  reference  to  this  in  the  words,  but  the  passage  contains  a 
general  warning  against  Job's  rebellious  words  and  demeanour  towards 
God,  and  means  "Act  not  as  if  thou  soughtest  to  bring  on  thyself  the 
dark  and  sudden  judgment  day  of  calamity  when  nations  are  swept 
away  in  their  place." 

21.  The  verse  continues  the  warning  against  a  rebellious  mind  under 
aflliction,  called  here  "turning  unto  iniquity";  for  Job  shews  himself 
more  inclined  to  this  than  to  submission  to  God's  chastening  hand. 

22 — 25.  Instead  of  murmuring  Job  should  bow  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  who  through  the  operations  of  His  providence  is  a  great 
teacher  of  men  {v.  22) ;  who  is  supreme  {v.  23)  ;  and  whose  work  all 
men  celebrate  (v.  24),  looking  to  it  with  admiration  and  awe  {v.  25). 

22.  exalteth  by  his  power]   Rather,  God  doeth  loftily  in  his  power. 
li'ho  teacheth']   Or,  wlio  is  a  teacher. 

23.  The  verse  expresses  the  idea  that  God  is  supreme  ;  none  enjoins 
or  appoints  Him  His  way;  He  is  "God  over  all;"  and  hence  none 
can  pass  judgment  upon  His  doings. 

24.  which  vien  behold]  Rather,  which  men  do  sing,  that  is,  cele- 
brate with  praise. 

25.  The  verse  is  better  without  the  "may"  of  the  A.  V. 

All  men  look  thereon, 
Man  beholdeth  it  afar  off. 
Men  look  on  God's  work.  His  operations,  with  wonder  and  awe. 

Chap.  XXXVI.  26— XXXVII.    The  greatness  and  unsearch- 

ABLENESS  OF  GOD,  SEEN  IN  HiS  MARVELLOUS  OPERATIONS  IN 
THE  SKIES  ;  AND  EXHORTATION  TO  JOB  TO  ALLOW  THESE 
WONDERS  DULY  TO  IMPRESS  HIM,  AND  TO  BOW  BENEATH  THE 
GREATNESS   OF  GOD,   WHO   SURPASSES   ALL  COMPREHENSION. 

The  passage  has  two  sections  : 

Eirst,  ch.  xxxvi.  26 — xxxvii.  13,  the  incomprehensible  greatness  of 
God,  seen  in  the  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere :  in  the  formation  of 


vv.  26— 28.]  JOB,   XXXVI.  251 

Behold,  God  is  great,  and  we  know  hit)i  not, 

Neither  can  the  number  of  his  years  be  searched  out. 

For  he  maketh  small  the  drops  of  water: 

They  pour  down  rain  according  to  the  vapour  thereof: 

Which  the  clouds  do  drop 

And  distil  upon  man  abundantly. 

the  rain-drops  (ch.  xxxvi.  16 — 28) ;  in  the  thunder-storm  (ch.  xxxvi.  29 — 
xxxvii.  5)  ;  in  snow  and  ice,  which  seals  up  the  hand  of  man  and 
makes  him  powerless  before  the  mighty  power  of  God  {zrj.  6 — 10) ; 
in  His  lading  the  cloud  with  moisture,  and  guiding  it  to  the  fulfilment  of 
His  varied  behests  upon  the  whole  earth  {vv.  11 — 13). 

Second,  ch.  xxxvii.  14 — 21,  Elihu  exhorts  Job  to  consider  these 
marvels  of  Him  which  is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working, 
and  to  let  them  duly  impress  him ;  bidding  him  behold  the  wonderful 
balancing  of  the  summer  cloud  in  the  heavens,  when  the  earth  is  still 
with  the  south  wind  {w.  14 — 17),  and  the  burnished  sky  is  stretched 
out  like  a  molten  mirror  (v.  18).  With  what  words  shall  man  come 
before  the  Omnipotent  to  contend  with  Him  !  Man,  who  is  dazzled  by 
the  light  of  the  sky,  how  should  he  behold  the  terrible  glory  around 
God  !  Therefore  all  men  do  fear  Him  ;  and  He  hath  not  respect  to 
those  that  are  wise  in  their  own  understanding  (vv.  19  —21). 

Ch.  xxxvi.  26 — xxxvii.  13,  The  greatness  of  God  and  the  wonderfulness 
of  His  operations  in  the  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere. 

26.  we  know  him  not\  He  is  so  great  as  to  transcend  all  knowledge 
of  man.  The  Eternity  of  God  is  referred  to  in  the  second  clause  in 
Older  to  fill  the  mind  more  completely  with  the  sense  of  His  greatness. 

27,  28.     The  wonder  of  the  rain-drops. 

27.  For  he  maketh  small  the  rain-drops  ; 
They  distil  the  rain  of  his  vapour ; 

28.  Which  the  clouds  pour  down. 

And  drop  upon  the  multitude  of  mankind. 

27.  he  maketh  smalll  lit.  he  draweth  away,  the  reference  being 
probably  to  the  formation  of  the  rain,  which  God  draweth  away  in 
drops  from  the  great  mass  of  waters  above.  Others  render,  he  draweth 
tip,  supposing  the  reference  to  be  to  the  ascent  of  the  rain  in  the  form 
of  vapour,  as  it  then  comes  down  in  rain-drops.  But  this  is  rather 
scientific  and  complete  ;  neither  does  the  word  mean  to  draw  up, 

28.  upon  man  abundantly\  This  is  possible,  but  the  more  natural 
meaning  is  as  above,  the  reference  being  to  the  universal  reach  of  the 
rain,  and  its  fall  on  all  mankind. 

29— xxxvii.  5.     The  marvel  of  the  thunder-storm. 

29.  30.     Verse  30  needs  some  modification — 

29.  Also  can  any  understand  the  spreadings  of  the  clouds, 
And  the  crashings  of  his  pavilion? 

30.  Behold,  he  spreadeth  his  light  around  him, 

And  covereth  him  over  with  the  deeps  of  the  sea. 


252.  JOB,   XXXVI.  [vv.  29—33. 

Also  can  a7iy  understand  the  spreadings  of  the  clouds, 

Or  the  noise  of  his  tabernacle  ? 

Behold,  he  sprcadeth  his  light  upon  it, 

And  covereth  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

For  by  them  judgeth  he  the  people; 

He  giveth  meat  in  abundance. 

With  clouds  he  covereth  the  light; 

And  commandeth  it  not  to  shine  by  the  cloud  that  cometh 

betwixt. 
The  noise  thereof  sheweth  concerning  it, 
The  cattle  also  concerning  the  vapour. 

29.  The  "spreadings"  of  the  clouds  refers  probably  to  the  accumu- 
lation and  diffusion  of  the  storm  clouds  over  the  heavens  ;  and  the 
second  clause  to  the  loud  thundering  within  the  dark  cloud,  where  God 
is  enshrouded,  and  which  is  therefore  called  His  "pavilion."  So  the 
word  is  rendered  Ps.  xviii.  11,  where  the  representation  is  similar. 

30.  Though  God  is  enveloped  in  the  dark  cloud.  He  is  there  en- 
circled with  His  light,  which,  though  the  masses  of  waters  cover  Him, 
manifests  itself  to  men's  eyes  in  the  lightning  that  shoots  from  the  cloud 
and  illumines  it. 

the  bottom  of  the  sed\  lit.  the  roots  of  the  sea,  a  singular  figure,  which 
must  mean  the  deeps  or  recesses  of  the  sea.  The  reference  is  no  doubt 
to  the  masses  of  water  in  the  thunder  clouds  which  enshroud  the 
Almighty,  but  the  precise  idea  of  the  poet  is  uncertain.  Either  he 
must  call  the  heavenly  waters  the  "sea"  (cf.  Ps.  xxix.  3),  and  mean  by 
its  "roots"  its  densest  recesses;  or  if  he  refer  to  the  sea  on  earth,  his 
idea  must  be  that  it  has  been,  as  it  were,  drawn  up  from  its  bottom  in 
cloud  and  vapour  to  form  the  pavilion  of  the  Lord.  This  second  idea 
has  a  certain  extravagance  which  makes  it  less  probable. 

31.  For  by  them  judgeth  he  the  peoplc\  Rather,  the  peoples.  He 
judges  the  peoples  by  the  lightning  and  the  rain  cloud.  By  the  one 
He  "scatters"  and  "discomfits"  His  enemies  (Ps.  xviii.  14),  and  by 
the  other  He  watereth  the  earth  and  makes  it  fruitful  (Is.  Iv.  10). 

32—33.     The  verses  read, 

32.  He  covereth  over  his  hands  with  light. 

And  giveth  it  commandment  against  the  adversary ; 

33.  His  thundering  telleth  concerning  him  ; 

Unto  the  cattle,  even  concerning  him  that  cometh  up ; 

32.  The  "light"  here  is  the  lightning,  which  grasped  in  His  hands 
illuminates  them.     Hitzig  refers  to  Hor.  Od.  I.  i, 

et  rubente 
dextera  sacras  jaculatus  arces 
terruit  urbem. 

33.  the  cattle  alsd\  The  A.  V.  makes  "  cattle  "  subject— they  also  tell 
of  God ;  in  which  case  the  reference  would  be  to  their  presentiments  of 


vv.  1—6.]  JOB,  XXXVII.  253 

At  this  also  my  heart  trembleth,  37 

And  is  moved  out  of  his  place. 

Hear  attentively  the  noise  of  his  voice,  2 

And  the  sound  that  goeth  out  of  his  mouth. 

He  directeth  it  under  the  whole  heaven,  3 

And  his  lightning  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

After  it  a  voice  roareth :  4 

He  thundereth  with  the  voice  of  his  excellency; 

And  he  will  not  stay  them  when  his  voice  is  heard. 

God  thundereth  marvellously  with  his  voice;  5 

Great  things  doeth  he,  which  we  cannot  comprehend. 

For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  Be  thou  on  the  earth;  6 

Likewise  to  the  small  rain, 

And  to  the  great  rain  of  his  strength. 

a  coming  storm.  The  context,  however,  describes  a  storm  actually- 
present,  and  it  is  more  natural  to  repeat  the  words  "it  telleth"  from 
the  first  clause  and  render,  (it  telleth)  mito  the  cattle ;  for  the  reference 
throughout  appears  to  be  to  the  impression  produced  on  all  creatures  by 
God's  mighty  thunderings  and  how  these  reveal  His  majesty — even  the 
cattle  hearing  with  terror  His  awful  voice ;  just  as  in  ch.  xxxvii.  i 
Elihu  describes  the  effect  produced  on  himself. 

concerning  the  vapour]   Rather  as  above,  concerning  Him  that  cometh 
tip,  i.e.  approaches  or  advances  in  the  thunder  cloud. 

The  above  rendering  assumes  that  the  present  Heb.  text  is  correct. 
Others  by  alterations  in  the  pointing  elicit  various  senses. 

xxxvii.  1.     This  verse  reads, 

Yea,  at  this  my  heart  trembleth, 
And  leapeth  up  out  of  its  place. 

2.  the  sound  that  goeth]    Or,  the  muttering.      The  thunder  is  the 
voice  of  God,  going  forth  out  of  His  mouth. 

3.  he  directeth]   Rather,  assuming  another  derivation  of  the  word,  he 
sendetli  it  forth,  lets  it  loose. 

4.  with  the  voice  of  his  excellency]    Rather,   with   his  voice   of 
majesty. 

he  zvill  not  stay  them]  Rather,  he  stayeth  them  not ;  He  restrains 
not  His  lightnings.  The  words  describe  the  play  of  the  lightning, 
rapidly  succeeding  the  thunder.  When  God's  presence  is  announced 
by  His  terrible  voice,  there  also  are  His  awful  ministers,  the  lightnings, 
swift  to  do  His  commandments  against  His  adversaries  (ch.  xxxvi.  32). 
6 — 10.  Another  wonder  of  God's  power,  snow  and  frost. 
6.     The  verse  reads  as  a  whole, 

For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  Fall  thou  on  the  earth ; 

Likewise  to  the  showers  of  rain, 

Even  to  the  showers  of  his  mighty  rains. 


254  JOB,   XXXVII.  [vv.  7— II. 

He  sealeth  up  the  hand  of  every  man; 

That  all  men  may  know  his  work. 

Then  the  beasts  go  into  dens, 

And  remain  in  their  places. 

Out  of  the  south  cometh  the  whirlwind : 

And  cold  out  of  the  north. 

By  the  breath  of  God  frost  is  given : 

And  the  breadth  of  the  waters  is  straitened. 

Also  by  watering  he  wearieth  the  thick  cloud : 

He  scattereth  his  bright  cloud : 

The  reference  in  the  second  and  third  clauses  is  probably  to  the  heavy 
rainfall  of  the  winter  season. 

7.  He  sealeth  tip  the  hand^  Effect  of  the  winter  rains  and  snow  on 
men :  all  lajjour  in  the  field  is  suspended;  the  hand  of  man  is  as  it  were 
"sealed  up." 

that  all  men  may  knozv  his  work']  The  Heb.  must  be  rendered  :  that 
all  men  whom  he  hath  made  may  know,  lit.  all  nun  of  his  workman- 
ship. The  meaning  is,  that  men  by  their  enforced  inactivity  through 
His  operations  in  nature  may  know  His  sovereign  power  and  that  they 
are  subject  to  it.  The  sense  given  by  the  A.V.  is  that  of  some  of  the 
ancient  Versions,  but  implies  a  different  reading. 

8.  their  places]  Their  coverts  or  lairs.  The  reference  is  to  the 
hibernation  of  the  animals,  or  to  their  retreat  into  their  coverts  for 
shelter  from  the  snow  and  rains. 

9 — 10.     Frost  and  ice. 

9.  The  rendeiing  of  this  verse  in  the  A.V.  is  free  and  in  some  mea- 
sure conjectural. 

the  south]  lit.  the  chamber.  In  ch.  ix.  9  reference  was  made  to  the 
"  chambers  of  the  south,"  and  it  has  been  assumed  that  the  same  is  the 
meaning  here.  There  is  no  reason,  however,  why  the  southern  heavens 
should  be  called  "chamber"  more  than  any  other  quarter  of  the  sky; 
and  the  passage  appears  to  refer  to  the  season  of  winter,  while  the 
south  wind  brings  heat,  v.  17.  The  term  "chamber"  is  most  probably 
used  in  the  sense  of  "treasury"  (ch.  xxxviii.  22),  as  Ps.  cxxxv.  7,  "  He 
bringelh  the  wind  out  of  his  treasuries."  The  meaning  probably  is. 
Old  of  its  (or,  his)  chamber  cometh  the  whirlwind. 

the  north]  The  word  is  of  uncertain  meaning.  It  may  signify,  the 
scattering  (winds),  that  is,  possibly  the  north  winds  that  scatter  the 
clouds  and  bring  frost. 

10.  By  the  breath  of  God  frost]  Rather,  Ice.  The  wind  is  the  breath 
of  God  as  the  thunder  is  His  voice.     This  cold  breath  gives  ice. 

11 — 13.     The  wonderful  movements  of  the  clouds  directed  by  the 
guidance  of  God,  and  fulfilling  His  several  behests. 
These  verses  read, 

ir.    Also  he  ladeth  the  thick  cloud  with  moisture, 
He  spreadeth  his  lightning-cloud  abroad ; 


vv.  12—17.]  JOB,  XXXVII.  255 

And  it  is  turned  round  about  by  his  counsels: 
That  they  may  do  whatsoever  he  commandeth  them 
Upon  the  face  of  the  world  in  the  earth. 
He  causeth  it  to  come,  whether  for  correction, 
Or  for  his  land,  or  for  mercy. 
Hearken  unto  this,  O  Job: 

Stand  still,  and  consider  the  wondrous  works  of  God. 
Dost  thou  know  when  God  disposed  them, 
And  caused  the  light  of  his  cloud  to  shine  ? 
Dost  thou  know  the  balancings  of  the  clouds, 
The  wondrous  works  of  him  wJiich  is  perfect  in  know- 
ledge ? 
How  thy  garments  are  warm. 
When  he  quieteth  the  earth  by  the  south  wind? 

12.  And  it  is  turned  round  about  by  his  guidance, 
That  it  may  do  whatsoever  he  commandeth  it 
Upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth  ; 

13.  Whether  it  be  for  correction,  or  for  his  earth. 
Or  for  meicy  that  he  causeth  it  to  come. 

12.  In  the  second  clause  the  words  are  lit.  "  that  they  may  do,"  the 
flur.  relerring  to  "cloud"  (v.  11)  collectively.  Others  make  the  pro- 
noun ihey  refer  to  men,  which  is  very  unnatural.  The  expression  "the 
whole  earth"  is  lit.  the  woi'ld  of  the  earth,  Prov.  viii.  31. 

13.  This  is  the  natural  rendering  of  the  Heb.  If  right  the  words 
"correction"  (rod,  ch.  xxi.  9)  and  "mercy"  must  refer  to  God's  pur- 
poses in  regard  to  77ien,  while  the  words  "for  his  earth"  refer  more  to 
the  inanimate  world,  as  God  "causeth  it  to  rain  on  the  earth,  where  no 
man  is,"  ch.  xxxviii.  26.  Many  have  felt,  however,  that  the  balance  of 
the  verse  requires  only  two  objects  to  be  stated,  namely  "  correction  " 
and  "mercy,"  and  would  render  the  first  line,  whether  it  he  for  correc- 
tion, when  due  to  his  earth. 

14 — 23.  Elihu's  own  imagination  kindles  at  the  thought  of  the  won- 
ders which  he  is  unfolding,  and  he  beseeches  Job  to  observe  them  with 
a  reverent  awe,  and  learn  from  them  the  unsearchableness  of  Him  who 
is  their  Author. 

15.  when  God  disposed  theni\  Rather,  how  God  layeth  his  com- 
mand upon  them,  and  causeth,  &c.  ? 

16.  the  l)alancings'\  That  is,  how  the  clouds  are  poised  in  the  hea- 
vens (comp.  ch.  xxvi.  8),  which  Elihu  regards  as  an  unspeakable  marvel. 

17.  how  thy  garments  are  warm]  Rather  perhaps,  thou  whose 
garments  are  warm,  when  the  earth  is  still  because  of  the  south 
wind.  Verse  15  referred  to  the  storm  cloud  ;  vv.  16,  17  refer  rather  to 
the  sultry  summer  cloud.  The  words  express  how  feeble  man  has  no 
part  in  causing  these  wonders,  but  only  passively  feels  the  effect  of  them. 
"  This  sensation  of  dry,   hot  clothes  is  only  experienced  during  the 


256  JOB,   XXXVII.  [vv.  18—21. 

Hast  thou  with  him  spread  out  the  sky, 

]Vhich  is  strong,  a?id  as  a  mohen  looking  glass? 

Teach  us  what  we  shall  say  unto  him; 

For  we  cannot  order  our  speech  by  reason  of  darkness. 

Shall  it  be  told  him  that  I  speak  ? 

If  a  man  speak,  surely  he  shall  be  swallowed  up. 

And  now  men  see  not  the  bright  light 

Which  is  in  the  clouds : 

But  the  wind  passeth,  and  cleanseth  them. 

siroccos"  (Thomson,  Land  and  the  Book).  In  reference  to  the  stillness 
of  the  earth  under  such  a  wind,  this  writer  says,  "  There  is  no  living 
thing  abroad  to  make  a  noise.  The  birds  hide  in  thickest  shades,  the 
fowls  pant  under  the  walls  with  open  mouth  and  drooping  wings,  the 
Hocks  and  herds  take  shelter  in  caves  and  under  great  rocks,  and  the 
labourers  retire  from  the  fields  and  close  the  windows  and  doors  of  their 
houses....  The  very  air  is  too  weak  and  languid  to  stir  the  pendent 
leaves  even  of  the  tall  poplars." 

18.  The  present  tense  is  better  in  this  verse, 

Canst  thou  with  him  spread  out  the  skies, 

Strong,  as  a  molten  mirror  ? 
"With   Him"   may  mean  "along  with  Ilim,"  or  rather  like  Him. 
The  comparison  of  the  clear,  dry,  burnished  summer  skies  of  the  East 
to  "brass"  is  made  in  other  parts  of  Scripture.     The  Eastern  mirrors 
were  plates  of  metal,  Ex.  xxxviii.  8. 

19.  This  thought  of  the  strong  expanse  of  heaven  stretched  out  by 
God  suggests  to  Elihu  His  unspeakable  greatness  and  unsearchableness, 
and  he  demands  of  Job  with  what  words  of  man  such  a  Being  is  to  be 
addressed,  if  one  sought  to  contend  with  Him. 

by  reason  of  darkness^  That  is,  of  understanding — in  presence  of  the 
unsearchableness  of  God. 

20.  The  verse  means. 

Shall  it  be  told  him  that  I  would  speak  ? 

Or  shall  a  man  wish  that  he  should  be  swallowed  up? 
Elihu  recoils  from  the  thought  of  going  into  God's  presence  to  strive 
with  Him ;  such  daring  presumption  would  be  voluntarily  to  court 
destruction.  The  words  "shall  a  man  wish?"  are  lit.  itas  a  man  said 
or  commanded?  i.e.  has  any  one  ever  voluntarily  ordered  his  own  anni- 
hilation? Nothing  other  than  this  does  the  man  do  who  ventures  to 
contend  with  the  Almighty. 

21.  The  natural  meaning  of  this  verse  is, 

And  now  men  cannot  look  upon  the  light, 
When  it  is  bright  in  the  skies, 
And  the  wind  liath  passed  and  cleansed  them. 
The  "light,"  here  the  sunlight,  is  too  great  to  look  upon,  it  dazzles  the 
beholder,  when  the  wind  has  passed  over  and  cleared  the  heavens. 


vv.  22,  23.]  JOB,  XXXVII.  257 

Fair  weather  cometh  out  of  the  north:  22 

With  God  is  terrible  majesty. 

Touching  the  Almighty,  we  cannot  find  him  out:   he  is  2^ 

excellent  in  power, 
And  ifi  judgment,  and  ifi  plenty  of  justice:   he  will  not 

afflict. 

Others  render,  as  A.V.  in  the  main,  and  710-u  men  see  7ioi  the  light, 
though  it  is  bright  in  the  clouds  (i.e.  behind  the  clouds) ;  but  the  wind 
passeth  over  and  cleareth  them.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  this  transla- 
tion of  the  third  clause  with  grammar.  The  idea  supposed  to  be  sug- 
gested by  this  rendering  is,  that  just  as  behind  the  clouds  there  is  light, 
which  will  by  and  by  appear,  so  the  darkness  around  God's  face  and 
ways  will  speedily  clear  away.  But  such  a  thought  remains  altogether 
unexpressed  ;  and  besides,  the  whole  passage  refers  to  the  unsearchable- 
ness  of  God  and  the  terrible  majesty  that  surrounds  Him  and  makes 
Him  unapproachable  {vv.  12,  23).  The  verse  is  evidently  incomplete 
in  sense,  expressing  but  half  the  idea;  the  other  half  is  given  in 
V.  22. 

22.  fair  weather"]  lit.  gold,  that  is,  probably,  golden  brightness  or 
splendour,  the  reference  being  to  the  light  {v.  21).  This  is  said  to  come 
from  the  North  because  the  north  wind  (v.  21)  clears  away  the  clouds 
and  reveals  it.  With  this  sense  the  verse  carries  on  the  thought  of 
V.  21,  and  the  antithesis  is  expressed  in  the  second  clause  oiv.  22,  with 
God  is  terrible  glory— a  men  cannot  look  upon  the  light  when  it  shines 
in  the  cloudless  heaven,  how  much  less  shall  they  bear  to  look  upon  the 
majesty  of  God,  surrounded  with  terrible  glory. 

Others  adhere  to  the  literal  sense  of  gold,  considering  the  general 
meaning  to  be,  that  men  may  penetrate  into  the  furthest  and  darkest 
regions  of  the  earth  and  bring  out  to  view  whatever  precious  things  they 
contain,  but  around  God  is  a  terrible  majesty  which  exalts  Him  above 
all  comprehension.  However  good  this  meaning  be  in  itself,  it  leaves 
V.  2 1  isolated  and  incomplete  in  sense.  And  although  to  Classical  An- 
tiquity the  North  may  have  been  the  region  of  gold,  no  trace  of  such  a 
conception  appears  in  the  Old  Testament,  for  any  identification  of 
Havilah  (Gen.  ii.  11)  with  Colchis  is  more  than  adventurous.  The 
comparison  too  of  the  light  to  gold  is  common  in  the  poetry  of  all  lan- 
guages. 

23,  24.  Elihu  sums  up  his  teaching  regarding  the  greatness  of  God, 
which  is  ever  conjoined  with  righteousness.  It  is  befitting  men,  there- 
fore, not  to  judge  Him,  but  to  fear  Him,  for  He  regards  not  them  that 
are  wise  in  their  own  understanding. 

23.     According  to  the  original  the  members  of  the  verse  stand  thus : 

The  Almighty  !  we  cannot  find  him  out ;  who  is  great  in  power. 

And  in  justice  and  fulness  of  righteousness  :  he  will  not  afflict. 

The  connexion  shews  that  ajlici  has  the  sense  of  afflict  unjustly,  or 

oppress.     Taken  thus  the  verse  has  a  certain  halting  movement.    Hence 

others  take  the  word  "afflict"  in  the  sense  of  wresi  or  do  violence  to, 

JOB  ly 


258  JOB,  XXXVII.,  XXXVIII.  [v.  24. 

Men  do  therefore  fear  him : 

He  respecteth  not  any  that  are  wise  of  heart. 

rendering  the  second  clause,  and  justice  and  fulness  of  righlcousness  he 
will  not  pervert  {Y.\\.).  ■,       c  r-   a 

Elihu  returns  here  at  the  end  of  his  discourse  to  the  thouj^ht  of  uod 
with  which  he  started,  ch.  xxxvi.  5,  "Behold  God  is  mighty,  and 
despiseth  not  any."  This  is  the  thought  of  God  that  fills  all  his  dis- 
courses ;  God's  power  is  ever  conjoined  with  righteousness,  and  He 
unjustly  afflicts  or  oppresses  none. 

24.  ivise  of  hearty  That  is,  wise  in  their  own  thoughts.  God  has 
respect  unto  the  humble— a  final  exhortation  to  Job  to  abstain  from 
presumptuous  complaints  of  God,  and  to  unite  with  mankind  every- 
where in  fearing  Him. 

Ch.  XXXVIII.— XLII.  6.    The  Lord  answers  Job  out  of  the 
Stokm. 

We  are  now  to  witness  the  last  act  of  the  drama.  And  to  under- 
stand it  we  have  to  go  back  to  the  starting-point  and  recall  the  idea  of 
the  Poem.  This  idea  is  expressed  in  the  question,  Doth  Job  se)~ve  God 
for  nought?  Or,  as  otherwise  put,  the  idea  is,  The  trial  of  the  Righteous. 
This  trial  has  been  observed  proceeding  throughout  the  whole  Book. 
Now  it  approaches  its  conclusion.  The  Lord,  who  caused  it  or  per- 
mitted it,  and  has  watched  it  from  afar,  must  now  interpose  to  bring  it 
to  an  end,  and  bestow  on  Job  the  fruits  of  it.  The  trial  has  been  suc- 
cessfully borne  :  for  though  Job  has  sinned  under  it,  his  sin  has  not 
been  of  the  kind  predicted  by  the  Adversary;  he  has  continued  to 
cleave  to  God,  and  even  sounded  deeps  of  faith  profounder  than  ever 
he  had  reached  before  (ch.  xix.),  and  tasted  the  sweets  of  righteousness 
with  a  keener  delight  than  during  his  former  godly  life  (ch.  xvii._9). 

At  the  point  at  which  we  are  now  arrived  the  sole  object  of  interest 
is  Job's  mind  in  its  relations  to  God.  The  speculative  question  dis- 
cussed between  him  and  his  friends  concerning  the  meaning  of  his 
sufferings,  or  the  meaning  of  evil  in  general  in  the  providence  of  God, 
has  no  importance,  except  so  far  as  the  conclusions  which  Job  has 
arrived  at  have  left  his  mind  in  a  condition  of  perplexity  in  regard  to 
the  ways  of  God.  The  Author's  didactic  purpose  in  raising  the  dis- 
cussion between  Job  and  his  friends  has  been  served  (ch.  xxi.  xxiii. — 
xxiv.).     job  himself  now  remains  the  problem. 

Though  the  trial  has  been  successfully  borne  upon  the  whole,  Job 
has  not  come  out  of  it  scatheless.  His  demeanour  towards  God, 
especially  in  presuming  to  contend  with  Him,  has  been  at  many 
points  profoundly  blameworthy.  And  the  thought,  which  he  refuses 
to  abandon  (ch.  xxvii.  2—6,  xxxi.  35  scq),  that  God  is  unjust  in  His 
rule  of  the  world,  even  though  he  maintains  it  more  as  a  theory  and 
necessary  construction  of  facts  as  he  observes  them,  without  allowing 
it  much  to  influence  his  life,  or  destroy  his  larger  faith  in  God,  is  a 
thought  not  only  derogatory  to  God,  but  one  that  must  cripple  every 


JOB,  XXXVIII.  259 


religious  movement  of  Job's  heart.  So  long  as  such  a  feeling  remains 
his  trial  cannot  be  said  to  be  ended.  But  nothing  that  Job  himself  can 
do,  nor  anything  that  his  friends  can  urge,  is  able  to  remove  it.  It  was 
God,  by  His  mysterious  providence,  who  raised  this  dark  doubt  in  His 
servant's  mind,  and  He  must  interpose  to  drive  it  away. 

It  might  be  supposed  at  first  that  the  simplest  way  of  restoring  Job 
to  peace  would  have  been  to  reveal  to  him  that  his  afflictions  were  not 
due  to  his  sin,  but  were  the  trial  of  his  righteousness,  and  in  this  way 
solve  the  problem  that  perplexed  him.  But  the  elements  of  blame- 
worthiness in  Job's  conduct  forbade  this  simple  treatment.  The  disease 
had  spread  in  his  mind,  and  developed  moral  symptoms,  which  required 
a  broader  remedy.  Besides,  it  is  God  who  now  speaks  to  Job  ;  and  in 
His  teaching  of  men  He  never  moves  in  the  region  of  the  mere  under- 
standing, but  always  in  that  of  the  religious  life.  He  may  remove 
perplexities  regarding  His  providence  and  ways  from  men's  minds, 
but  He  does  not  do  so  by  the  immediate  communication  of  intellectual 
light,  but  by  flushing  all  the  channels  of  thought  and  life  with  a  deeper 
sense  of  Himself.  Under  the  flow  of  this  fuller  sense  of  God  per- 
plexities disappear,  just  as  rocks  that  raise  an  angry  surf  when  the  tide 
is  low  are  covered  and  unknown  when  it  is  full.  This  is  the  meaning 
of  God's  manifestation  to  Job  out  of  the  storm.  He  brings  Himself 
and  His  full  glory  near  to  Job,  and  fills  his  mind  with  such  a  sense 
of  Him  as  he  had  never  had  before — "Now  mine  eye  seeth  thee" 
(ch.  xlii.  5).  At  this  sight  of  God  his  heart  not  only  quivers  with  an 
unspeakable  joy,  but  he  abhors  his  past  thoughts  of  Him,  and  his 
former  words,  and  repents  in  dust  and  ashes. 

The  object  of  the  Lord's  answer  to  Job  out  of  the  storm  is  twofold, 
to  rebuke  Job,  and  to  heal  him — to  bring  home  to  his  heart  the  blame- 
worthiness of  his  words  and  demeanour  towards  God,  and  to  lift  him 
up  out  of  his  perplexities  into  peace.  The  two  things  hardly  difter ; 
at  least  both  are  effected  by  the  same  means,  namely  by  God's  causing 
all  His  glory  to  pass  before  Job. 

The  Lord's  answer  to  Job  out  of  the  storm  consists  of  two  parts,  or 
contains  two  questions  : — 

First,  ch.  xxxviii.  i — xl.  5,  Shall  mortal  man  contend  with  God? 

Second,  ch.  xl.  6 — xHi.  6,  Shall  man  charge  God  with  wrong  in  His 
rule  of  the  world  ? 

The  two  questions,  however,  are  hardly  kept  apart,  for  the  first 
implies  the  second,  inasmuch  as  a  man's  contention  with  God  will 
naturally  be  because  of  His  unjust  treatment  of  himself.  And  Job, 
in  his  final  words  of  penitence  (ch.  xlii.  1 — 6),  refers  back  to  ch. 
xxxviii.  2. 

In  the  beginning  of  His  first  address  Jehovah  invites  Job  to  enter 
upon  that  contention  with  Him  which  he  had  so  often  sought,  "Gird 
up  thy  loins  like  a  man  ;  and  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  answer  thou 
me"  (ch.  xxxviii.  3).  The  point  aimed  at  by  the  Divine  Speaker  is  the 
presumption  of  Job  in  desiring  to  contend  with  the  Almighty.  Then 
the  Lord  causes  a  panorama  of  creation,  both  inanimate  and  living,  to 
pass  before  Job  (ch.  xxxviii.  4 — xxxix.  30).  Having  done  so  He  de- 
mands, "Will  he  that  reproveth  the  Almighty  contend  with  Him"? 


17 — 2 


26o  JOB,  XXXVIII. 


/ 


(ch.  xl.  2.)  Does  Job,  now  that  tlie  glory  of  God  has  been  made  to 
pass  before  his  eyes,  continue  to  desire  to  contend  with  Him  ?  To 
which  Job  replies,  "Behold  1  am  too  mean;  how  shall  1  answer  thee? 
I  lay  mine  hand  upon  my  mouth  "  (ch.  xl.  4).  Tiie  exhibition  of  the 
great  panorama  of  creation  was  but  a  method  of  revealing  God,  not  in 
(jne  attribute  but  in  all  His  manifoldness  and  resource  of  mind.  It  was 
designed  to  abase  Job  before  God,  and  rebuke  his  presumption.  And 
this  was  its  effect:  "Behold  I  am  too  mean"!  But  the  revelation  of 
God  had  another  design  besides  abasing  Job.  It  was  given  to  Job  that 
he  might  know  God,  and  be  at  peace  (ch.  xxii.  21). 

The  process,  however,  is  not  yet  complete.  In  a  second  address  the 
Lord  again  commands  Job  to  gird  up  his  loins  and  answer  Him.  But 
now  He  is  more  specific  :  "Wilt  thou  condemn  me  that  thou  mayest  be 
in  the  right"?  (ch.  xl.  8.)  And  He  ironically  invites  Job  to  clothe 
himself  with  the  attributes  of  the  Supreme  Kuler,  and  conduct  the  rule 
of  the  world  himself.  The  invitation  brings  home  to  Job  a  still  deeper 
feeling  of  that  which  the  Almighty  is,  and  he  exclaims,  "I  had  heard 
of  thee  with  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee " 
(ch.  xlii.  5).  And  in  this  light  of  God  his  own  past  thought  of  Him 
seems  the  darker:  "I  abhor  it,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 

Thus  the  solution  to  Job's  problem  given  in  God's  answer  from  the 
storm  is  a  religious  solution,  not  a  speculative  one.  It  is  a  solution  to 
the  heart,  not  to  the  intellect.  It  is  such  a  solution  as  only  God  could 
give;  a  solution  which  does  not  solve  the  perplexity  but  buries  it  under 
the  tide  of  a  fuller  life  and  joy  in  God.  It  is  a  solution  as  broad  as  Job's 
life  and  not  merely  the  measure  of  his  understanding;  the  same  solu- 
tion as  was  given  to  the  doubting  Apostle,  making  him  to  exclaim,  "My 
Lord  and  my  God ! "  and  teaching  him  that  not  through  his  sense  of 
touch  or  his  eyesight,  but  through  a  broader  sense,  God  makes  himself 
telt  by  man. 

Ch.  XXXVIII.  I— XL.  5.  The  Lord's  First  Answer  to  Job 
OUT  OF  THE  Storm.  Shall  mortal  Man  contend  wrni 
God? 

The  passage  has  three  general  divisions; 

First,  ch.  xxxviii.  i — 38,  a  review  of  inanimate  nature,  the  wonders 
of  earth  and  sky,  all  revealing  the  manifoldness  of  the  Divine  mind, 
and  suggesting  by  contrast  the  littleness  of  man. 

Second,  ch.  xxxviii.  39 — xxxix.  30,  a  review  of  the  world  of  animal 
life,  having  the  same  object  as  the  former  division. 

Third,  ch.  xl.  1 — 5,  the  impression  produced  on  Job  by  this  vision  of 
the  glory  of  God  in  creation — he  is  abased  and  brought  to  silence. 

This  first  address  to  Job  touches  simply  the  presumption  of  a  man 
seeking  to  contend  with  God.  Hence  it  is  taken  up  with  presenting 
God  and  man  in  opposition  to  one  another.  The  vivid  pictures  of  the 
inanimate  creation,  with  its  wonders,  and  the  world  of  animal  life, 
with  its  instincts  and  properties — all  of  them  originated  and  bestowed 
by  God — are  but  the  means  used  for  displaying  God.  And  the  sharp, 
ironical   questions   put   to    Job,    where    he   was   when   God   laid   the 


vv.  1—4.]  JOB,  XXXVIII.  261 

Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirhvind,  and  said,  38 
Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  2 

By  words  without  knowledge  ? 

Gird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a  man;  3 

For  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  answer  thou  me. 
Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  4 
Declare,  ii  thou  hast  understanding. 

foundations  of  the  earth  ;  whether  he  hunts  her  prey  for  the  lioness;  or 
combined  such  contradictory  qualities  in  the  ostrich ;  or  created  that 
wonder  of  beauty  and  fierceness,  the  war-horse — these  questions  but 
serve  to  bring  out  by  contrast  with  God  the  feebleness  and  meanness  of 
man. 

1.  otit  of  the  whirhvuid^  Rather,  out  of  the  Storm.  Jehovah, 
even  when  condescending  to  speak  with  men,  must  veil  Himself  in  the 
storm  cloud,  in  which  He  descends  and  approaches  the  earth.  Even 
when  He  is  nearest  us,  clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  Him. 
His  revelation  of  Himself  to  Job,  at  least,  was  partly  to  rebuke  him, 
for  he  had  sinned  against  His  majesty,  and  He  veils  Himself  in  terrors. 
The  storm  is  not  necessarily  that  which  Elihu  describes;  the  Art.  is 
rather  generic,  the  meaning  being  that  thus  Jehovah  spoke,  namely,  out 
of  storm. 

2.  who  is  this  that  darkeneth  coimsel'\  lit.  7vho  then  is  darkening 
counsel?  The  word  the7t  merely  adds  the  emphasis  of  impatience  or 
astonishment  to  the  question,  who...  ?  The  expression  eonnsel  suggests 
that  the  Lord  had  a  plan  or  meaning  in  Job's  aftlictions,  which  the  per- 
verse and  ignorant  construction  put  on  them  by  Job  obscured.  The 
word  might  have  a  wider  sense  and  refer  to  sound  wisdom  in  general  in 
reference  to  man's  life,  which  Job,  by  his  particular  utterances  on  God's 
providence,  only  darkened.  The  participle  darkening  is  thought  by 
many  to  imply  that  the  Divine  Speaker  broke  in  upon  Job  when  in  the 
act  of  darkening,  that  is,  when  speaking.  If  so,  the  speeches  of  Elihu 
are  an  interpolation.  It  is  rather  to  strain  the  argument  from  the  use 
of  the  participle  to  say  that  this  innst  be  the  meaning. 

3.  for  I  will  demand]  Rather,  and  I  will.  Jehovah  now  invites  Job 
to  prepare  for  that  contention  with  Him  which  he  had  so  often  desired,  • 
ix.  35,  xiii.  20  seq. ;  and  as  Job  had  said,  "  Then  call  thou  and  I  will 
answer,  or  let  me  speak  and  answer  thou  me"  (ch.  xiii.  cia),  Jehovah, 
as  becomes  Him,  chooses  the  former  half  of  the  alternative,  it  may  be 
that  when  He  has  "called  "  Job  will  be  less  ready  than  he  thought  to 
"answer"  (ch.  xl.  3 — 5). 

4 — 33.  A  SURVEY  OF  THE  INANIMATE  CREATION,  THE  WONDERS 
OF  EARTH  AND  SKY — THE  EARTH,  VV.  4 — 18  ;  THE  HEAVENS,  VV.  18 
-38. 

4 — 11.     Earth  and  sea. 

4.  Was  Job  present,  possibly  taking  part  in  the  operation,  when 
Jehovah  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth?     Let  him  then  "declare" 


262  JOB,   XXXVIII.  [vv.  5— lo. 

Who  hath  laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest  ? 

Or  who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ? 

AVhereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened  ? 

Or  who  laid  the  corner  stone  thereof; 

When  the  morning  stars  sang  togetlier, 

And  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy? 

Or  wlio  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors, 

When  it  brake  forth,  as  if'xt  had  issued  out  of  the  womb? 

When  I  made  the  cloud  the  garment  thereof, 

And  thick  darkness  a  swaddling  band  for  it, 

And  brake  up  for  it  my  decreed /A/iT^, 

And  set  bars  and  doors, 

how  all  was  done.     The  word  declare  of  course  refers  to  the  queries 
in  w.  5 — 7. 

6.  if  thflii  hnoivest']  Rather,  that  thou  shouldest  know.  Job  knew 
well  who  laid  (rather,  fixed)  the  measures  of  the  earth,  but  the  point  of 
the  question  is,  Was  he  present  to  see  who  fixed  them  and  how  they 
were  fixed,  so  as  to  be  able  to  speak  with  knowledge  ? 

6.  are  the  foundations  fastened']  Or,  were  the  foundations  sunk? 
All  the  tenses  here  should  be  put  in  the  simple  past. 

The  creation  of  the  earth  is  likened  to  the  rearing  of  a  great  edifice, 
whose  extent  was  determined  by  line,  whose  pillars  were  sunk  in  their 
bases,  and  its  corner-stone  laid  with  shoutings  and  songs  of  rejoicing 
among  the  heavenly  hosts  (comp.  Ezra  iii.  10  seq.,  Zech.  iv.  7). 
Such  music,  as  'tis  said, 
Before  was  never  made, 

But  when  of  old  the  sons  of  morning  sung, 
While  the  Creator  great 
His  constellations  set, 

And  the  well-balanced  world  on  hinges  hung; 
And  cast  the  dark  foundations  deep. 
And  bid  the  weltering  waves  their  oozy  channel  keep. 

Jlymn  on  the  Nativity. 
The  stars  and  the  angels  are  here  as  usual  conjoined,  and  the  morning 
stars  are  named  as  the  brightest  and  most  glorious,  as  also  because  the 
earth  rose  into  existence  at  the  morning  dawn. 
8 — 10.     The  sea. 

8.  as  if  it  had  issued]  Rather,  and  issued  out  of  the  womb. 

9.  tltick  darkness]  Or,  and  the  thick  cloud. 

10.  brake  zip  for  it  my  decreed  place]  Rather,  and  brake  for  It  my 
bound,  i.e.  set  it  my  appointed  boundary.  The  expression  "  brake  " 
may  refer  to  the  deep  and  abrupt  precipices  which  mark  the  coast  line 
in  many  places. 

The  figures  in  these  verses  are  very  splendid.  First,  the  ocean  is 
represented  as  an  infant  giant,  breaking  forth  from  the  womb.     (It  is 


vv.  II— 16.]  JOB,  XXXVIII.  263 

And  said,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further:  1 

And  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed  ? 

Hast  thou  commanded  the  morning  since  thy  days;  1 

And  caused  the  dayspring  to  know  his  place; 

That  //  might  take  hold  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  1 

That  the  wicked  might  be  shaken  out  of  it  ? 

It  is  turned  as  clay  to  the  seal; 

And  they  stand  as  a  garment. 

And  from  the  wicked  their  light  is  withholden,  1 

And  the  high  arm  shall  be  broken. 

Hast  thou  entered  into  the  springs  of  the  sea  ?  : 

not  necessary  perhaps  to  ask  whether  the  interior  of  the  earth  be 
thought  of  as  the  "  womb  "  of  the  ocean,  or  whether  "  womb  "  merely 
belongs  to  the  figure  of  the  ocean's  birth.)  Then  the  infant  ocean  was 
swathed  in  clouds  and  thick  clouds  were  its  swaddling  bands.  Finally 
the  new-born  monster  must  be  tamed  by  almighty  power,  and  an  im- 
passable bound  set  to  its  proud  fury. 

12 — 15.     The  dawn  that  daily  overspreads  the  earth. 

12.  sifzce  thy  days']  i.e.  since  thou  wast  born,  all  thy  life.  The  ques- 
tion, naturally,  implies  the  other  query,  whether  Job  be  coeval  with  the 
dawn? 

the  dayspring]  i.e.  the  dawn. 

13.  ends  of  the  earth]  lit.  skirts  or  wings  of  the  earth.  The  figure 
is  beautiful ;  the  dawn  as  it  pours  forth  along  the  whole  horizon,  on 
both  sides  of  the  beholder,  lays  hold  of  the  borders  of  the  earth,  over 
which  night  lay  like  a  covering ;  and  seizing  this  covering  by  its  extremi- 
ties it  shakes  the  wicked  out  of  it.  The  wicked  flee  from  the  light. 
The  dawn  is  not  a  physical  phenomenon  merely,  it  is  a  moral  agent. 

14.  Another  charming  figure.  Under  the  light  of  morn  the  earth, 
which  was  formless  in  the  darkness,  takes  shape  like  the  clay  under 
the  seal. 

It  is  changed  as  clay  under  the  seal, 

And  they  stand  forth  as  a  garment. 
In  the  first  clause  the  words  are  lit.  as  seal-day.     All  things  with 
clear-cut  impression  and  vivid  colouring  stand  forth  under  the  light,  and 
together  form  a  various,  many-coloured  garment,  in  which  the  earth 
is  robed. 

15.  shall  be  broken]  Rather,  is  broken.  The  ' '  light  "  of  the  wicked 
is  the  darkness,  ch.  xxiv.  17.  The  "high  arm"  is  the  arm  already 
uplifted  to  commit  violence.  Again  the  moral  meaning  of  the  dayspring 
is  expressed. 

16 — 17.    The  deep  and  the  underworld. 

16.  hast  thou  entered]  Perhaps,  didst  thou  enter  7  The  whole  pas- 
sage seems  under  the  influence  of  the  first  question,  v.  4,  Where  wast 
thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?     Did  Job  then  explore 


264  JOB,  XXXVIII.  [w.  17—21. 

Or  hast  thou  walked  in  the  search  of  the  depth  ? 
7      Have  the  gates  of  death  been  opened  unto  thee? 

Or  hast  thou  seen  tlie  doors  of  the  shadow  of  death  ? 
!      Hast  thou  perceived  the  breadth  of  the  earth  ? 

Declare  if  thou  knowest  it  all. 
)      Where  is  the  way  7vhere  light  dwelleth  ? 

And  as  for  darkness,  where  is  the  place  thereof, 
>      That  thou  shouldest  take  it  to  the  bound  thereof, 

And  that  thou  shouldest  know  the  paths  to  the  house 
thereof? 
'      Knowest  thou  //,  because  thou  wast  then  born  ? 

Or  because  the  number  of  thy  days  is  great  ? 

the  abysses  of  the  deep,  and  enter  the  gates  of  the  underworld  ?     Did 
he  then  survey  all  parts  of  the  new-born  world  ? 
walked  in  the  search^  Rather,  in  the  recesses. 

17.  have  the  gates  of  death]  Or,  were  the  gates  ?  Death  is  per- 
sonified; it  is  Sheol,  the  place  of  the  dead,  ch.  xxviii.  22.  This  is  a 
lower  deep  than  the  recesses  of  the  sea;  Job,  no  doubt,  went  down 
there  also. 

hast  thou  seen]  Or,  didst  thou  see  ? 

18.  Final  query,  Whether  Job  surveyed  the  whole  earth,  and  com- 
prehended its  breadth. 

hast  thou  perceived]  Rather  perhaps,  didst  thou  comprehend  7 
19 — 38.     The  wonders  of  the  heavens. 
19 — 21.     Light  and  darkness. 

19.  The  first  clause  reads, 

What  is  the  way  to  where  light  dwelleth? 
Light  and  darkness  are  here  regarded  as  things  independent  of  one 
another;  they  are  both  real  agents,  each  of  which  has  its  place  or  abode, 
from  which  it  streams  forth  over  the  earth,  and  to  which  it  is  again 
taken  back  (v.  20). 

20.  take  it  to  the  hound  thereof]  The  second  clause,  the  path  to  its 
house,  suggests  that  the  bound  or  border  of  light  is  not  the  furthest 
limit  to  which  it  flows  forth,  but  its  own  place  of  abode,  the  bound 
between  it  and  darkness,  from  which  it  issues.  Job  is  asked  if  he 
knows  the  way  to  the  dwelling-place  of  light  and  darkness,  so  that  he 
might  take  them  back  to  the  place  of  their  abode. 

21.  The  verse  is  ironical, 

Thou  knowest ;  for  thou  wast  then  born, 

And  the  number  of  thy  days  is  great. 
The  words  "  thou  knowest  "  refer  to  the  question,  v.  19,  Which  is 
the  way...?    Job  knows  the  way  to  the  place  of  light,  for  he  was  born 
contemporary  with  it ;  he  is  as  old  as  the  dayspring  which  morning  by 
morning  has  overspread  the  earth  since  creation's  dawn. 


vv.  22—25.]  JOB,  XXXVIII.  26s 

Hast  thou  entered  into  the  treasures  of  the  snow? 
Or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasures  of  the  hail, 
Which  I  have  reserved  against  the  time  of  trouble,  : 

Against  the  day  of  battle  and  war  ? 

By  what  way  is  the  light  parted,  1 

Which  scattereth  the  east  wind  upon  the  earth  ? 
Who  hath  divided  a  watercourse  for  the  overflowing  of; 
waters, 

"Light  is  considered  here,  as  in  Gen.  i.,  to  be  a  natural  force,  with 
an  independent  existence,  apart  from  the  heavenly  luminaries  that 
transmit  it.  And  in  this,  as  is  well  known,  modern  investigation  coin- 
cides with  the  direct  perceptions  of  antiquity"  (Schlottmann,  Comm.  on 
jfob,  p.  468).  To  this  remark  it  has  to  be  added  that  in  the  present 
passage  "  darkness  "  also,  no  less  than  light,  is  regarded  as  a  natural 
force,  with  an  independent  existence,  and  a  "  place  "  where  it  abides, 
contiguous  to  light.  Science,  to  which  Scripture  is  taught  to  look 
so  humbly  for  approval,  will  no  doubt  confirm  this  representation  also. 

22,  23.     Snow  and  hail. 

22.  the  treasures']  That  is,  the  treasuries,  the  magizines.  Snow  and 
hail  are  represented  as  having  been  created  and  laid  up  in  great  store- 
houses in  the  heavens  or  above  them,  from  whence  God  draws  them 
forth  for  the  moral  ends  of  His  government  {v.  23).  The  idea  may  be 
suggested  by  observation  of  the  vast  masses  in  which  snow  falls.  Job, 
no  doubt,  has  inspected  these  treasuries,  or  was  present  when  at  creation 
the  Almighty  filled  them. 

23.  Compare  such  passages  as  Josh.  x.  11;  Ps.  Ixviii.  14;  Is.  xxx. 
30;  Ezek.  xiii.  13. 

24 — 27.     The  stormy  wind,  rain  and  lightning. 

24.  The  verse  seems  to  mean  : 

Which  is  the  way  to  where  the  light  is  parted. 
And  the  east  wind  spreadeth  over  the  earth  ? 
The  phrase  in  clause  first  is  the  same  as  in  v.  19.  The  words  may 
mean  by  which  way,  or  road,  is  light  parted  ?  The  "  light "  was  already 
referred  to  in  v.  19,  and  some  consider  the  word  to  mean  lightning 
here.  This,  however,  comes  from  above  and  is  spoken  of  in  v.  25. 
More  probably  the  reference  is  to  the  wonderful  diffusion  of  light  over 
the  whole  earth,  and  the  query  concerns  the  way  or  path  by  which  this 
takes  place.  Such  a  path  appears  to  lie  in  the  East,  from  whence  also 
the  stormy  wind  spreads  over  the  earth  ;  hence  the  two  are  brought  into 
connexion.  Job,  of  course,  knows  the  way  along  which  this  diffusion 
of  light  and  wind  takes  place. 

25.  for  the  overflmuing  of  ivaters]  Rather,  for  the  rain-flood.  The 
second  clause  indicates  that  by  the  "watercourse"  is  meant  the  conduit 
(Is.  vii.  3)  or  channel  cut  through  the  arch  of  the  heavens,  down  which 
the  rain-flood  pours  to  the  earth.  In  like  manner  the  lightning  follows 
a  track  or  path  prepared  for  it  through  the  heavens. 


266  JOB,  XXXVIII.  [vv.  26—31. 

Or  a  way  for  the  lightning  of  thunder ; 

26  To  cause  it  to  rain  on  the  earth,  where  no  man  is; 
On.  the  wilderness,  wherein  there  is  no  man; 

27  To  satisfy  the  desolate  and  waste  ground; 

And  to  cause  the  bud  of  the  tender  herb  to  spring  forth  ? 
23      Hath  the  rain  a  father  ? 

Or  who  hath  begotten  the  drops  of  dew  ? 

29  Out  of  whose  womb  came  the  ice  ? 

And  the  hoary  frost  of  heaven,  who  hath  gendered  it  ? 

30  The  waters  are  hid  as  luith  a  stone, 
And  the  face  of  the  deep  is  frozen. 

31  Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades, 
Or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion  ? 

26,  27.  Man  is  not,  as  he  might  think,  the  only  object  of  God's 
regard.  God  is  great  and  His  providence  very  wide.  His  goodness  is 
over  all  His  works.  He  satisfies  with  rain  the  thirsty  wilderness  where 
no  man  is,  that  the  tender  grass  may  be  refreshed. 

28 — 30.     Rain,  dew,  frost  and  ice. 

28.  the  rain  a  father']  That  is,  a  human  father;  does  any  man,  Job 
perhaps,  beget  the  rain  or  the  drops  of  dew  ? — They  are  marvels  of 
God's  creative  power. 

29.  who  hath  gendered  it']  Rather,  brought  It  forth,  or  borne  it 
(Is.  xlix.  21),  as  the  parallelism  of  the  first  clause  requires. 

30.  as  with  a  stone]  lit.  the  waters  hide  themselves  like  a  stone,  that 
is,  becoming  like  stone. 

is  frozen]  lit.  cleaveth  together.  The  phenomenon  of  ice,  rare  in  the 
East,  naturally  appeared  wonderful. 

31 — 38.  The  direction  of  the  regular  movements  of  the  heavens,  and 
their  influence  upon  the  earth. 

31.  canst  thou  bind]  Rather,  dost  thou  bind?  The  questions 
addressed  to  Job,  throughout  the  chapter,  mean  in  general.  Is  it  he  that 
effects  what  is  observed  to  be  done?  not.  Can  he  undo  what  is  done,  or 
do  what  is  not  done?  Hence  the  questions  here  imply  that  the  Pleiades 
are  bound  and  that  Orion  is  loosed,  and  Job  is  asked  whether  it  be  he 
that  binds  in  the  one  case  and  looses  in  the  other. 

the  sweet  influences]  The  idea  suggested  by  "influences"  is  that 
man's  life  on  the  earth  is  ruled  by  the  stars,  as  Shakespeare  calls  the 
moon 

the  moist  star. 
Upon  whose  influence  Neptune's  empire  hangs. 
There  is,  however,  no  trace  of  this  idea  in  the  original  word.  Those 
who  retain  this  translation  suppose  the  reference  to  be  to  the  genial 
influence  of  spring,  of  which  this  cluster  of  stars,  when  appearing  before 
the  sun  in  the  east,  was  a  joyful  herald.  Such  a  reference  is  too  re- 
mote ;  neither  docs  it  allow  any  just  meaning  to  "  bind."     Besides,  the 


vv.  32, 33.]  JOB,  XXXVIII.  267 

Canst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his  season  ?  3a 

Or  canst  thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons  ? 
Knowest  thou  the  ordinances  of  heaven  ?  33 

Canst  thou  set  the  dominion  thereof  in  the  earth  ? 

exegetical  tradition  is  that  the  word  rendered  "  sweet  influences  "  has 
the  same  sense  as  "bands  "in  the  second  clause  (so  Sept.  deff/j-ov),  as 
the  parallelism  requires.     The  verse  rather  means, 

Dost  thou  bind  the  bands  of  the  Pleiades, 

Or  loose  the  cords  of  Orion  ? 
It  is  not  certain  that  these  are  the  stars  meant,  and  the  allusions  are* 
obscure.  As  "loosing  the  cords"  or  bands  of  Orion  cannot  mean 
dissolving  the  constellation  and  separating  its  stars  from  one  another, 
so,  if  the  parallelism  is  exact,  "binding  the  bands  "of  the  Pleiades  ought 
not  to  refer  to  the  fact  that  the  stars  of  this  constellation  always  appear 
as  a  group  in  the  same  form,  although  this  is  the  idea  which  most 
writers  consider  to  be  expressed.  The  word  in  the  second  clause, 
being  from  a  root  always  meaning  to  draiv  (ch.  xli.  i,  Is.  v.  18,  Hos. 
xi.  4),  ought  to  have  some  such  sense  as  cords, — that  by  which  anything 
is  drawn,  rather  than  that  by  which  it  is  bound.  The  reference  is  pro- 
bably to  the  motion  of  the  constellation  in  the  heavens.  An  Arabic 
poet,  bewailing  the  slowness  of  the  hours  of  a  night  of  sorrow,  says 
that,  in  their  immobility  and  tardiness  to  turn  towards  their  setting- 
place,  "its  stars  seem  bound  by  cords  to  a  rock."  The  same  poet, 
however,  compares  the  Pleiades,  including  perhaps  Orion  under  the 
name,  when  it  appears  upon  the  horizon,  to  a  girdle  studded  with 
jewels ;  and  some  have  supposed  that  the  sense  in  the  present  passage 
is  similar,  rendering.  Dost  thou  bi7id  into  a  band  (or  fillet)  the  Pleiades? 
This  is  an  improbable  conceit.  So  far  as  the  mere  language  is  con- 
cerned, the  first  clause  most  naturally  refers  to  some  star  or  constella- 
tion which  appears  bound  to  one  place,  whether  it  be  that  it  stands 
always  high  in  the  heavens  or  is  unable  to  rise  much  above  the  horizon ; 
and  the  second  clause  to  some  star  or  group  whose  motion  in  the 
heavens  is  free,  whether  it  be  that  it  is  able  to  rise  high  or  that  it  sets 
and  disappears. 

32.  canst  thou  brifig  fortJi]  Rather,  dostthou...?  and  similarly, 
dost  thou  guide  ?  The  meaning  of  Mazzaroth  is  uncertain.  The  word 
has  been  supposed  to  be  another  form  oi  Mazzaloth,  1  Kings  xxiii.  5, 
which  is  thought  to  mean  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac.  The  connexion  as 
well  as  the  parallelism  of  the  next  clause  suggests  that  some  single  star 
or  constellation  is  meant.  Others  would  render  the  bright  stars;  the 
planets,  perhaps,  or  some  of  them  being  referred  to. 

Arcturus  with  his  softs']  Or,  the  bear  ivith  her  young.  The  reference 
is  supposed  to  be  to  the  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear.  Her  "young" 
are  the  stars  that  project  from  the  square  ;  or,  taking  the  popular  con- 
ception of  the  constellation  as  a  "plough,"  they  are  the  bright  stars 
that  form  the  "  beam." 

33.  canst  thou  set]     Rather,  as  before,  dOSt  thou  set  7     The  idea  is 


268  JOB,  XXXVI I L  [w.  34—38. 

Canst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds, 
That  abundance  of  waters  may  cover  thee  ? 
Canst  thou  send  lightnings,  that  they  may  go, 
And  say  unto  thee,  Here  we  are  ? 
Who  hath  put  wisdom  in  the  inward  parts  ? 
Or  who  hath  given  understanding  to  the  heart  ? 
Who  can  number  the  clouds  in  wisdom  ? 
Or  who  can  stay  the  bottles  of  heaven, 
1      When  the  dust  groweth  into  hardness, 
And  the  clods  cleave  fast  together  ? 

that  the  heavens  and  the  stars  exercise  an  influence  over  the  earth  and 
the  destinies  of  man. 

34,  35.     For  canst  tJiou  it  is  better,  as  before,  to  read,  dost  thou  ? 

36.  The  verse  is  obscure,  owing  to  the  terms  "inward  parts"  and 
"heart"  being  of  uncertain  meaning.  The  translation  of  the  A.V. 
may  be  certainly  set  aside,  (i)  because  the  introduction  of  a  reference  to 
the  "inward  parts"  and  "heart"  of  man  in  the  middle  of  a  description 
of  celestial  phenomena  is  not  to  be  thought  of;  and  (2)  any  lauda- 
tory reference  to  man  is  out  of  keeping  with  the  whole  drift  of  the 
speech,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  abase  man  before  the  wonders  of 
God's  creation  and  His  operations  outside  the  sphere  of  man's  life. 
The  word  rendered  "inward  parts"  may  be  the  same  as  that  so  ren« 
dered,  Ps.  li.  6.  There  the  parallel  word  is  "hidden  part,"  and  the 
reference  may  be  to  the  dark  and  deep  doitd-masses.  The  word  "heart " 
does  not  occur  again  ;  it  may  mc:vn,  form,  Jigtire,  and  refer  to  the  mani- 
fold cloud  formations  or  phenomena.  These  fulfilling  the  purposes  of 
God  seem  themselves  endowed  with  wisdom.  If  this  be  the  sense,  the 
best  commentary  on  the  verse  would  be  the  words  of  Elihu,  ch.  xxxvii. 
12,  "And  it  (the  cloud)  turnclh  about  every  way  by  His  guidance,  that 
it  may  do  whatsoever  He  commandeth  it  upon  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth." 

37.  The  verse  carries  on  the  thought  of  the  preceding. 

who  can  numher'\  Or,  Who  numbereth  in  wisdom?  WTio  musters 
or  counts  off  the  clouds,  that  they  be  sufficient  and  not  in  excess  for  the 
purpose  required  of  them  ? 

The  second  clause  means. 

Or  who  pourcth  out  the  bottles  of  the  heavens? 

Ch.  XXXVIII.  39— Cir.  XXXIX.  30.  The  manifoldness  of 
THE  Divine  Mind  as  displayed  in  the  world  of  animal  life. 

The  instances  chosen  are  the  lion  and  the  raven  {vv.  39 — 41);  the 
■wild  goats  and  the  hinds  (ch.  xxxix.  i — 4);  the  wild  ass  {vv.  5 — S;  the 
wild  ox  (I'v.  9 — 12);  the  ostrich  {w.  13 — 18);  the  war  horse  {w,  19 — 
25);  the  hawk  and  the  eagle  {vv.  26 — 30). 

These  btilliant  pictures  from  the  animal  world  have  the  same  purpose 
as  those  given  before  (vv.  4 — 38)  from  inanimate  nature ;  they  make 


vv.  39—41.]  JOB,  XXXVIII.  269 

Wilt  thou  hunt  the  prey  for  the  Hon  ?  3? 

Or  fill  the  appetite  of  the  young  lions, 

When  they  couch  in  their  dens,  i" 

And  abide  in  the  covert  to  lie  in  wait  ? 

Who  provideth  for  the  raven  his  food?  4' 

When  his  young  ones  cry  unto  God, 

They  wander  for  lack  of  meat. 

God  to  pass  before  the  eye  of  Job.  They  exhibit  the  diversity  of  the 
animal  creation,  the  strange  dissimilarity  of  instinct  and  habit  in  crea- 
tures outwardly  similar,  the  singular  blending  together  of  contradictory 
characteristics  in  the  same  creature,  and  the  astonishing  attributes  and 
powers  with  which  some  of  them  are  endowed ;  and  all  combines  to 
illustrate  the  resources  of  mind  and  breadth  of  thought  of  Him  who 
formed  them  and  cares  for  them,  the  manifold  play  of  an  immeasurable 
intelligence  and  power  in  the  world. 

Yet  though  each  of  these  pictures  utters  the  name  of  God  with  an 
increasing  emphasis,  and  though  the  Poet  presents  them  in  the  first 
instance  that  we  may  hear  this  name  from  them,  it  is  evident  that  his 
own  eye  follows  each  of  the  creatures  which  he  describes  with  a 
delighted  wonder  and  love.     The  Poet  felt  like  a  later  poet, 

He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best  all  things  both  great  and  small, 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us.  He  made  and  loveth  all. 

The  words  of  Carlyle  might  be  quoted,  who  says  of  the  Book  of  Job 
and  of  these  descriptions  in  particular,  "  so  irtie  every  way ;  true  eye- 
sight and  vision  for  all  things ;  material  things  no  less  than  spiritual " 
{Heroes,  Lect.  ii),  were  it  not  that  this  writer's  raptures  are  so  often 
founded  on  intellectual  mistake  and  imperfect  appreciation  of  facts,  and 
are  therefore,  like  all  such  ideal  raptures,  only  nauseous. 

39,  40.     The  lion. 

luilt  thou  hunt]  Rather,  dost  thou  hunt  the  prey  for  the  lioness? 
That  the  lioness  is  enabled  to  catch  her  prey  is  due  to  some  power 
which  brings  it  into  her  hand.  Is  it  Job,  perhaps,  that  finds  it  for 
her? 

41.     The  raven.    The  question  extends  to  the  end  of  the  verse, 
Who  provideth  for  the  raven  his  food. 
When  his  young  ones  cry  unto  God, 
And  wander  without  meat  ? 

The  raven  is  one  of  the  commonest  birds  in  Palestine ;  by  its  inces- 
sant croaking  it  presses  itself  upon  the  attention,  and  is  often  alluded  to 
in  Scripture.  Ihe  cry  of  its  young  is  an  appeal  unto  God  (Joel  i.  20), 
and  the  feeding  of  it  is  proof  of  His  universal  providence,  which  does 
not  overlook  even  the  least  of  His  creatures  (Ps.  cxlvii.  9,  Luke  xii.  24). 
The  lion  and  the  raven  are  here  associated  perhaps  by  way  of  contrast, 
the  one  being  the  most  powerful  and  the  other  one  of  the  least  of  God's 
creatures.  Their  natures  too  are  most  dissimilar, — the  silent,  subtle, 
self-reliance  of  the  one,  couching  patiently  in  his  lair,  and  the  clamorous 


270  JOB,  XXXIX.  [vv.  1—6. 

39      Knowest  thou  the  time  when  the  wild  goats  of  the  rock 
bring  forth  ? 
Or  canst  thou  mark  when  the  hinds  do  calve? 

2  Canst  thou  number  the  months  that  they  fulfil  ? 
Or  knowest  thou  the  time  when  they  bring  forth  ? 

3  They  bow  themselves,  they  bring  forth  their  young  ones. 
They  cast  out  their  sorrows. 

4  Their  young  ones  are  in  good  liking,  they  grow  up  with 

corn; 
They  go  forth,  and  return  not  unto  them. 

5  Who  hath  sent  out  the  wild  ass  free  ? 

Or  who  hath  loosed  the  bands  of  the  wild  ass  ? 

6  Whose  house  I  have  made  the  wilderness, 
And  the  barren  land  his  dwellings. 

outcry  and  appeal  of  the  other,  wandering  over  the  land  in  search  of 
food.  The  raven,  of  course,  is  a  general  name,  covering  the  whole  Crow 
tribe. 

Ch.  xxxix.  1 — 4.     The  goats  of  the  rock  and  the  hinds. 

1.  canst  thou  mark]  Rather,  dost  thou.  The  goats  of  the  rock  are 
the  mountain  goats,  a  species  of  chamois. 

2.  canst  thou  niimber\  Rather,  dost  thou.  The  "months  that  they 
fulfil"  is  the  time  they  go  with  young.  The  words  "knowest  thou", 
"  dost  thou  mark  ",  and  the  like,  though  no  doubt  referring  partly  to 
man's  ignorance  of  the  habits  of  these  remote  and  timid  creatures,  carry 
also  the  question,  Is  it  Job  who  presides  over  and  determines  all  con- 
nected with  the  life  and  habits  of  these  solitary  creatures? 

3.  cast  out  their  sorro%i's\  That  is,  their  pains  ;  with  the  birth  of 
their  young  they  are  rid  of  their  pains  also.  Or  "their  pains"  may 
mean  "  their  young,"  by  a  figure  common  in  all  poetry. 

4.  in  good  likingl  i.e.  in  good  condition,  strong. 

groiu  up  with  corn]     Rather,  they  grow  up  in  the  open  field. 

These  shy,  solitary  creatures,  inhabiting  the  rocks,  are  without  the 
care  and  help  in  bearing  their  young  which  domesticated  creatures 
enjoy;  yet  their  bearing  is  light  and  speedy;  their  young  are  robust; 
they  grow  up  in  the  desert  and  rapidly  provide  for  themselves.  The 
care  of  God  suffices  for  them. 

5 8.     The  wild  ass.     Who  gave  the  wild  ass  his  freedom  and  his 

indomitable  love  of  liberty — who  scorns  the  noise  of  cities  and  laughs 
at  the  shouts  of  the  driver,  which  his  tame  brother  obeys?  The  point 
of  the  questions  lies  not  only  in  the  striking  peculiarities  of  the 
beautiful  creature  itself,  but  in  the  strange  contrast  between  it  and 
the  tame  ass,  which  in  external  appearance  it  resembles. 

7.     The  verse  reads, 

He  scorneth  the  tumult  of  the  city. 

And  heareth  not  the  shoutings  of  the  driver. 


vv.  7—9.]  JOB,  XXXIX.  271 

He  scorneth  the  multitude  of  the  city,  ; 

Neither  regardeth  he  the  crying  of  the  driver. 

The  range  of  the  mountains  is  his  pasture,  i 

And  he  searcheth  after  every  green  thing. 

Will  the  unicorn  be  willing  to  serve  thee,  1 

Or  abide  by  thy  crib  ? 

The  wild  ass  is  frequently  referred  to  in  the  poetry  of  the  Arabs,  who 
were  passionately  fond  of  hunting  it.  Prof.  Ahlvvardt  has  collected 
from  his  unequalled  reading  in  the  Poets  a  list  of  statements  regarding 
the  creature  which  is  of  great  interest  {Chalef  ElaJimar,  pp.  341 — 360). 
The  colour  on  the  upper  part  of  the  body,  the  neck  and  higher  part  of 
the  head  is  light  bay,  with  a  coffee-brown  band  running  down  the  back 
to  the  tuft  of  the  tail;  between  this  band  and  the  bay  there  is  some 
white.  The  other  parts  are  of  a  silver  grey,  tending  to  white  on  the 
vmder-side  of  the  body.  The  animal  is  described  as  "thick,"  "thick- 
fleshed,"  but  also  "narrow-built,"  that  is,  behind  and  in  front,  and 
hence  it  is  compared  to  the  point  of  an  arrow.  The  tail  is  long.  Its 
pace  is  exceedingly  quick,  only  the  fleetest  horses  being  able  to  over- 
take it;  and  when  running  it  holds  its  head  to  the  side  in  frolicsomeness 
and  performs  all  manner  of  pranks  and  capers.  A  troop  of  wild  asses 
is  usually  small,  consisting  of  a  male,  one  or  two  females,  and  the 
young.  This  is  confirmed  by  Tristram,  who  says,  "I  have  seen  this 
ass  wild  in  the  desert  of  North  Africa,  in  troops  of  four  or  five"  {Nat. 
Hist,  of  the  Bible,  p.  43).  Wetzstein  on  the  contrary  speaks  of  the 
herd  as  consisting  of  "several  hundred"  {Del.  ii.  p.  331).  The  abode 
of  the  wild  ass  is  in  deserts,  untrodden  by  man  (comp.  v.  6),  hence  he 
is  called  "the  solitary"  (comp.  Hosea  viii.  9,  "A  wild  ass  alone  by  him- 
self"). In  spring  he  frequents  the  plains  in  which  there  are  pools,  and 
later  the  heights  where  grass  is  abundant  (comp.  v.  8).  On  these 
heights  he  passes  the  summer  with  the  females;  and  there  he  stands 
and  keeps  watch,  spying  the  approach  of  foes  (comp.  Jer.  xiv.  6,  "The 
wild  asses  did  stand  in  the  high  places  &c.").  The  poets  compare  a 
deep  ravine  or  abyss  to  the  "belly"  of  the  wild  ass,  which  is  often  lank 
and  empty  from  want  of  food  (Jerem.  xiv.  6).  He  is  said  to  live  to  a 
great  age,  over  a  hundred  years.  The  flesh  is  delicious,  and  for  this 
reason,  as  well  as  for  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  the  creature  was 
eagerly  hunted  by  the  Arabs.  His  vigour  and  hardiness  are  testified  to 
in  the  proverb,  "sounder  than  a  wild  ass." 

9—12.     The  wild  ox. 

9.  will  the  tmiconi]  Rather,  the  wild  ox  (Heb.  reem,  or,  rem). 
From  the  allusions  to  this  creature  in  Scripture  two  things  may  be 
inferred  with  some  certainty,  (i)  that  the  animal  had  two  horns: 
Deut.  xxxiii.  17  "his  horns  are  like  the  horns  of  an  unicorn";  comp. 
Numb,  xxiii.  22,  xxiv.  8  (where  for  "strength"  some  such  words 
as  "towering  horns"  should  be  read,  see  on  ch.  xxii.  25),  Ps.  xxii.  •21 ; 
and  (2)  that  the  animal  was  considered  to  belong  to  the  ox  tribe.  This 
appears  from   the   present  passage,   where  it  is  contrasted  with  the 


272  JOB,  XXXIX.  [vv.  10—13. 

Canst  thou  bind  the  unicorn  with  his  band  in  the  furrow  ? 

Or  will  he  harrow  the  valleys  after  thee  ? 

Wilt  thou  trust  him,  because  his  strength  is  great  ? 

Or  wilt  thou  leave  thy  labour  to  him  ? 

Wilt  thou  believe  him,  that  he  will  bring  home  thy  seed, 

And  gather  it  into  thy  barn  ? 

Gavest  thou  the  goodly  wings  unto  the  peacocks  ? 

Or  wings  and  feathers  unto  the  ostrich  ? 

domestic  ox,  the  labours  of  which  it  was  fitted  to  perform  if  its  disposition 
had  not  been  untameable;  and  from  two  other  passages,  in  both  of 
which  it  is  brought  into  connexion  with  the  ox :  Ps.  xxix.  6,  "  He  maketh 
tliem  to  skip  lilce  a  calf,  Lebanon  and  Sirion  like  a  young  unicorn", 
and  Is.  xxxiv.  7,  "And  the  unicorns  shall  come  down  with  them, 
and  the  bullocks  with  the  bulls."  The  rccm  was  probably  either 
the  animal  called  by  the  Germans  Aiierochs  {Bos  primigcmiis)  or 
"primitive  ox,"  now  extinct  all  over  the  world,  or  the  bison,  which  still 
lingers  in  scanty  numbers  in  one  or  two  parts.  The  Arabs  give  the 
name  ri'm  to  the  white  antelope.  The  translation  "unicorn"  came 
from  the  Sept.  fiouoKipu^s.  A  one-horned  animal,  though  abundantly 
testified  to  by  travellers,  probably  exists  only  in  the  imagination. 
Jerome  adheres  to  the  general  "unicorns"  in  Ps.  xxii.  21  and  Is.  xxxiv. 
7,  but  usually  he  renders  "rhinoceros,"  the  nearest  approach  to  a 
"unicorn"  that  exists  in  the  world  of  reality.  "The  Unicorne,  as 
Lewes  Vartinian  testifieth,  who  saw  two  of  them  in  the  towne  of  Mecha, 
is  of  the  height  of  a  yoong  horse  or  colt  of  30  moneths  old,  hee  hath 
the  head  of  a  Hart,  and  in  his  forehead  he  hath  a  sharpe  pointed  home 
three  cubites  long... His  home  is  of  a  merueilous  greate  force  and  vertue 
against  venome  and  poyson"  (see  Wright,  BMd  IVord-Book). 

The  point  of  the  passage  lies  not  so  much  in  the  terrible  attributes  of 
the  creature  himself,  as  in  the  contrast  between  him  and  the  tame  ox, 
which  he  externally  resembled.  He  was  fitted  for  all  the  labour  per- 
formed by  the  domestic  animal,  but  was  wild  and  untameable.  Man 
uses  the  one,  let  him  lay  his  hand  upon  the  other  and  subdue  him  to 
his  service!  Who  is  the  author  of  this  strange  diversity  of  disposition 
in  creatures  so  like  in  outward  form  ? 
13—18.  The  ostrich. 
13.     The  verse  reads, 

The  wing  of  the  ostrich  beats  joyously, 
Is  it  a  kindly  pinion  and  feather? 
The  word  rendered  ostrich  means  lit.  crying  or  wailing,  that  is,  the 
cryer  or  waller ;  the  female  ostrich  is  probably  meant,  see  on  ch.  xxx. 
■2Q.  The  word  "kindly,"  lit.  pious,  is  the  name  given  to  the  stork 
(Ps.  civ.  17),  whose  affection  for  its  young  is  proverbial,  and  there  may 
be  in  the  term  an  allusion  to  this  bird,  which  the  ostrich  in  some  points 
resembles  externally,  but  from  which  it  differs  so  strangely  in  dis- 
position. 


vv.  14—18.]  JOB,   XXXIX.  273 

Which  leaveth  her  eggs  in  the  earth,  h 

And  warmeth  them  in  dust, 

And  forgetteth  that  the  foot  may  crush  them,  is 

Or  that  the  wild  beast  may  break  them. 

She  is  hardened  against  her  young  ones,  as  though  iJuy  16 

were  not  hers: 
Her  labour  is  in  vain  without  fear; 

Because  God  hath  deprived  her  of  wisdom,  17 

Neither  hath  he  imparted  to  her  understanding. 
What  time  she  lifteth  up  herself  on  high,  i3 

She  scorneth  the  horse  and  his  rider. 

15.  may  break  theiii\  lit.  trample  them. 

16.  she  is  harden fd  as^aiiistl  Or,  slie  treateth  hardly. 

her  young  oiies\  The  words  refer  here  to  her  eggs,  from  which  the 
young  come  forth,  not  to  the  young  brood — as  the  second  clause  ex- 
plains. 

in  vain  ivithotit  fear'\  The  meaning  is  that  she  is  without  fear,  has  no 
apprehension  of  danger,  and  consequently  her  labour  is  often  in  vain — 
"she  forgetteth  that  the  foot  may  crush"  her  eggs. 

The  verses  refer  to  the  popular  belief  that  the  ostrich  did  not  brood 
but  left  her  eggs  to  be  hatched  in  the  sun ;  hence  she  is  a  type  of  un- 
natural cruelty,  Lam.  iv.  3,  "Even  the  sea  monsters  {Xho.  jackals, 
Streane,  Jerem.  and  Lam.)  draw  out  the  breast,  they  give  suck  to  their 
young  ones :  the  daughter  of  my  people  is  become  cruel,  like  the 
ostriches  in  the  wilderness."  The  belief  is  not  sustained  by  observation, 
except  to  this  extent,  that  the  bird  does  not  brood  till  her  complement 
of  eggs  (thirty  in  number)  be  laid,  and  that  during  the  early  period  of 
incubation  she  often  leaves  the  nest  by  day  to  go  in  search  of  food. 
It  is  also  said  that  she  lays  a  number  of  eggs  outside  the  nest,  which 
are  not  incubated  but  serve  as  food  for  the  poults  when  they  are 
hatched. 

17.  God  hath  deprived  her  of  zvisdoni\  The  Arabs  have  a  proverb, 
"more  stupid  than  an  ostrich,"  A  poet  suggests  the  reason  of  this 
charge  of  stupidity, 

Like  a  bird  that  abandons  her  eggs  in  the  desert, 
And  covers  the  eggs  of  another  with  her  wings. 
(Meidani,  Prov.  i.  405). 

18.  lifteth  7ip  herself  on  high']  That  is,  in  flight.  The  flying  of  the 
ostrich  is  properly  a  very  swift  running,  in  which  she  is  helped  by  her 
outspread  wings  and  tail.  "Its  speed  has  been  calculated  at  twenty-six 
miles  an  hour  by  Dr  Livingstone,  and  yet  the  South  African  ostrich  is 
smaller  than  the  northern  species ;  and  I  have  myself,  in  the  Sahara, 
measured  its  stride,  when  bounding  at  full  speed,  from  twenty-two  to 
twenty-eight  feet"  (Tristram,  p.  237). 

The  cruel  disposition  of  the  ostrich  and  her  foolishness  have  been 

JOB  18 


274  JOB,   XXXIX.  [vv.  19—24. 

Hast  thou  given  the  horse  strength  ? 

Hast  thou  clothed  his  neck  with  thunder? 

Canst  thou  make  him  afraid  as  a  grasshopper  ? 

The  glory  of  his  nostrils  is  terrible. 

He  paweth  in  the  valley,  and  rejoiceth  in  his  strength. 

He  goeth  on  to  meet  the  armed  men. 

He  mocketh  at  fear,  and  is  not  affrighted ; 

Neither  turneth  he  back  from  the  sword. 

The  quiver  rattleth  against  him, 

The  glittering  spear  and  the  shield. 

He  swalloweth  the  ground  with  fierceness  and  rage  : 

implanted  in  her  by  God,  yet  in  strange  contradiction  to  these  qualities 
are  others  which  He  has  bestowed  on  her,  such  as  lier  swiftness  when 
pursued,  which  enables  her  to  laugh  at  the  horse  and  his  rider.  This 
singular  union  of  dissimilar  qualities,  as  if  it  were  the  work  of  creative 
power  at  play,  shews  both  the  inconceivable  freedom  and  resource  of 
the  Mind  that  operates  in  creation. 
19 — 25.  The  war  horse. 
19,  20.     The  verbs  are  better  put  in  the  present. 

19.     Dost  thou  give  strength  to  the  horse? 

Dost  thou  clothe  his  neck  with  trembling? 
■20.     Dost  thou  make  him  leap  like  the  locust? 
The  glory  of  his  snorting  is  terrible. 

19.  The  word  "trembling"  hardly  refers  to  the  mane  alone,  but 
rather  describes  the  quivering  of  the  neck,  when  the  animal  is  roused, 
which  erects  the  mane. 

20.  The  comparison  of  the  horse  to  the  locust  is  not  uncommon,  Joel 
ii.  4,  Rev.  ix.  7.  The  picture  of  the  horse  is  taken  at  the  moment  im- 
mediately preceding  the  onset,  and  thus  his  "  bounding  "  and  "  snorting  " 
are  brought  into  connexion. 

21.  ihc  armed  tiwii]  lit.  the  weapons. 

22.  from  the  sword]  lit.  because  of,  or,  before  the  sword. 

23.  rattleth  against  him]  Rather  perhaps,  upon  liim.  The  quiver  is 
that  of  his  rider,  the  clang  of  which  excites  him. 

the  shield]  Rather,  the  javelin,  or,  lance.  The  Poet  does  not  seek 
to  describe  the  actual  conflict ;  it  is  a  picture  of  the  horse  that  he  gives, 
and  the  moment  before  the  conflict  is  that  at  which  the  animal's^  extra- 
ordinary attributes  are  most  strongly  exhibited.  "  Although  tlocile  as  a 
lamb,  and  requiring  no  other  guide  than  the  halter,  when  the  Arab 
mare  hears  the  war-cry  of  the  tribe  (cf.  v.  25),  and  sees  the  quivering 
spear  of  her  rider  (cf.  v.  23),  her  eyes  glitter  with  fire,  her  blood-red 
nostrils  open  wide,  her  neck  is  nobly  arched,  and  her  tail  and  mane  are 
raised  and  spread  out  to  the  wind  (cf.  v.  \()).  A  Bedouin  proverb  says, 
that  a  high-bred  mare  when  at  full  sjiced  should  hide  her  rider  between 
her  neck  and  her  tail"  (Layard,  Discoveries,  p.  330). 


vv.  25—30.]  JOB,   XXXIX.  275 

Neither  believeth  he  that  //  is  the  sound  of  the  trumpet. 

He  saith  among  the  trumpets,  Ha,  ha ;  25 

And  he  smelleth  the  battle  afar  otf, 

The  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting. 

Doth  the  hawk  fly  by  thy  wisdom,  26 

A7id  stretch  her  wings  toward  the  south  ? 

Doth  the  eagle  mount  up  at  thy  command,  27 

And  make  her  nest  on  high  ? 

She  dwelleth  and  abideth  on  the  rock,  23 

Upon  the  crag  of  the  rock,  and  the  strong  place. 

From  thence  she  seeketh  the  prey,  29 

And  her  eyes  behold  afar  off. 

Her  young  ones  also  suck  up  blood :  30 

And  where  the  slain  are,  there  is  she. 

24.  neither  believclk  hel  That  is,  most  probably,  he  hardly  trusts  his 
ears  for  gladness. 

25.  he  saith  among  the  trumpets]  Rather,  as  oft  as  the  trumpet 
soundeth  he  saith,  Ha,  ha !  The  "  thunder  "  of  the  captains  is  the  roar 
of  command ;  and  the  "  shouting  "  is  the  battle-cry  of  the  soldiery. 

Has  Job  created  this  wonder  of  beauty  and  fierceness  and  endowed 
him  with  his  extraordinary  qualities,  which  make  him  mingle  in  the 
conflicts  of  men  with  a  fury  and  lust  of  battle  greater  even  than  their 
own  ? 

26.  The  hawk. 

her  wings  to2vard  the  so?ith]  The  allusion  is  to  the  migration  of  the 
bird  southward  when  the  cold  season  of  the  year  begins.  Is  it  Job's 
wisdom  that  directs  her  flight  to  the  south? 

27—30.     The  eagle. 

Is  it  at  Job's  command  that  the  eagle  fixes  her  habitation  fearlessly  on 
the  dizzy  crag?  Did  he  bestow  on  her  her  penetrating  vision,  which 
scans  the  wide  expanse  of  country  and  pierces  into  the  deep  ravine  ?  or 
did  he  endow  her  with  her  terrible  instincts,  that  shew  themselves  at 
once  in  her  young,  which  "  suck  up  blood  "? 


Chap.  XL.  i — 5.    Effect  of  the  Divine  Speech  on  Job. 

As  if  the  purpose  of  the  preceding  survey  of  Creation  might  be  lost 
in  the  brilliancy  of  the  individual  parts  of  it,  the  Divine  Speaker  gathers 
up  its  general  effect  and  brings  it  to  bear  on  Job  directly,  demanding 
whether  he  will  persevere  in  his  contention  with  Jehovah ; — will  the 
reprover  contend  with  the  Almighty?  vv.  i,  2. 

Job  is  abased  by  the  glory  of  God  which  He  has  made  to  pass  before 
him,  and  brought  to  silence — I  am  too  mean,  what  shall  I  answer  thee? 
I  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth;  vv.  3—5. 

18—2 


276  JOB,  XL.  [vv.  1—5. 

40  Moreover  the  Lord  answered  Job,  and  said, 

2  Shall  he  that  contcndeth  with  the  Almighty  instruct  him  ? 
He  that  rcproveth  God,  let  him  answer  it. 

3  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 

4  Behold,  I  am  vile;  what  shall  I  answer  thee? 
I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth. 

5  Once  have  I  spoken;  but  I  will  not  answer: 
Yea,  twice;  but  1  will  proceed  no  further. 

1.  answered  Jobl  That  is,  took  up  anew  His  words  and  directly 
appealed  to  Job. 

2.  The  verse  means, 

Will  the  reprover  contend  with  the  Almighty? 
He  that  disputeth  with  God  let  him  answer  it. 

The  "reprover"  or  blamer  is  of  course  Job;  and  so  is  "he  that  dis- 
puteth," or,  "he  that  would  dispute."  The  word  it  refers  to  the  fore- 
going display  of  God's  glory  in  creation,  which  Jehovah  has  set  before 
Job.  And  the  question  means.  Will  Job  now,  having  God  in  the  mani- 
foldness  of  His  Being  thus  set  before  him,  really  enter  on  a  contention 
with  the  Almighty? 

3_5.  Job's  answer:  he  will  no  more  contend;  he  is  silent  before 
God. 

4.  behold,  I  am  vile]  The  word  vile  here  is  not  a  moral  term,  it 
signifies,  meaji,  small.     The  verse  may  be  read, 

Behold  I  am  too  mean;  what  shall  I  answer  thee? 
I  lay  mine  hand  upon  my  mouth. 
Job  is  abased  before  Jehovah ;  he  feels  his  meanness  and  is  silent, 
comp.  ch.  xxi.  5,  xxix.  9. 

5.  I  will  proceed  no  further']  Or,  but  I  wiU  not  again.  The  words 
"once",  "twice",  that  is,  sundry  times,  refer  to  what  Job  had  often 
said  in  his  speeches  concerning  tlie  Almighty. 

The  purpose  of  making  these  wonders  of  creation  pass  before  Job's 
eyes  was  to  display  God  before  him,  and  to  heal  the  presumption  of  his 
heart.  Every  one  of  these  wonders  utters  the  name  of  God  with  a 
louder  emphasis  in  Job's  ears.  It  is  not  any  attribute  of  God  that  is 
dwelt  upon,  it  is  God  in  all  the  manifoldncss  of  His  being  that  passes 
before  Job's  mind.  It  is  entirely  to  misinterpret  the  design  of  these 
visions  of  creation  presented  to  Job  when  we  suppose  that  what  is 
aimed  at  is  to  impress  on  Job  the  incomprehensibility  of  the  Creator's 
works,  or  the  mystery  that  lies  in  them  all ;  as  if  he  was  bidden  consider 
that  not  in  his  own  life  alone,  but  everywhere,  beneath  his  feet  and 
around  him,  there  lay  unfathomable  mysteries.  The  Lord  does  not 
reason  with  Job  after  the  manner  of  the  author  of  the  Analogy  of  Re- 
ligion. He  does  not  say  "you  complain  of  darkness  in  your  own 
history,  look  into  the  world  and  behold  darkness  everywhere".  This 
would  have  been  soriy  reasoning  on  the  part  of  the  Father  of  lights. 
On  the  contrary,  He  bids  Job  look  away  from  his  own  darkness  to  the 


JOB,   XL.  277 

world  which  is  himinous  with  God  ;  and  the  exceeding  light  about  God 
theie,  breaking  on  Job,  swallows  up  his  own  darkness. 

It  is  scarcely  just  to  say  that  what  Jehovah  demands  of  Job  here  is 
simple  submission,  that  he  should  bow  absolutely  and  unconditionally 
under  God.  If  this  had  been  the  meaning  of  Jehovah's  speeches  out  of 
the  storm  there  was  no  reason  for  His  speaking.  Silence  would  have 
been  more  effective;  or  if  He  had  spoken,  it  should  have  been  with  the 
voice  of  the  thunder,  terrifying  Job  into  the  dust.  That  the  Lord  speaks 
at  all  implies  that  He  says  something  that  may  be  understood  by  the 
creature  of  His  hand.  His  speaking  may  be  indirect,  and  in  parables, 
but  it  will  contain  meaning.  It  is  true  that  the  object  of  the  Divine 
speeches  is,  partly  at  least,  to  bring  Job's  heart  to  submission  and  cause 
him  to  assume  his  right  place  before  the  Creator.  And  this  was 
necessary,  for  Job,  as  he  acknowledges,  had  sinned  against  the  majesty 
of  God.  But  the  Lord  does  not  command  Job  to  take  this  place;  He 
induces  him.  And  he  does  so  by  the  only  means  that  will  ever  induce 
any  human  spirit  to  put  itself  right  with  God,  the  revelation  of  Himself. 
This  revelation  given  to  Job  was  patient,  broad,  and  manifold.  It  was 
anything  but  a  categorical  command.  JVc,  indeed,  may  feel  now  that 
the  revelation  might  have  been  different,  that  it  might  have  contained 
other  traits.  The  traits  which  we  desiderate  could  hardly,  perhaps, 
have  been  exhibited  on  an  Old  Testament  stage.  It  was  not  the 
design  of  the  revelation,  if  it  ever  was  the  design  of  revelation,  to  com- 
municate new  truths  to  Job,  but  to  make  him  feel  the  truth  which  he 
knew,  and  enable  him  to  live  aright  before  God. 


Chap.  XL.  6— XLII.  6.     The  Lord's  Second  Answer   to  Job 
OUT  OF  THE  Storm. 

Shall  Man  charge  God  with  unrighteousness  in  His  Rule 
OF  the  World? 

All  that  the  first  speech  of  the  Lord  touched  upon  was  the  presump- 
tion of  a  mortal  man  desiring  to  contend  with  the  Almighty.  The 
display  from  Creation  of  that  which  God  is  had  the  desired  effect  on 
Job's  mind:  he  is  abased,  and  will  no  more  contend  with  the  Al- 
mighty. 

But  Job  had  not  only  presumed  to  contend  with  God,  he  had  charged 
Him  with  unrighteousness  in  His  rule  of  the  world  and  in  His  treatment 
of  himself.  This  is  the  point  to  which  the  second  speech  from  the 
storm  is  directed. 

The  passage  has  properly  two  parts. 

First,  w.  6 — 14,  as  Job  had  challenged  the  rectitude  of  God's  rule  of 
the  world,  he  is  ironically  invited  to  clothe  himself  with  the  Divine 
attributes  and  assume  the  rule  of  the  world  himself. 

Then  follows,  ch.  xl.  15 — xli.  34,  a  lengthy  description  of  two 
monsters,  Behemoth  and  Leviathan. 

Second,  ch.  xlii.  i — 6,  Job's  reply  to  the  Divine  challenge.  He 
confesses  that  he  spoke  things  which  he  understood  not.     He  had  heard 


278  JOB,   XL.  [vv.  6— lo. 

6  Then  answered  the  Lord  unto  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind, 

and  said, 

7  Gird  up  thy  loins  now  hke  a  man: 

I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me. 
3      Wilt  thou  also  disannul  my  judgment? 

Wilt  thou  condemn  mc,  that  thou  mayest  be  righteous  ? 
9      Hast  thou  an  arm  like  God  ? 

Or,  canst  thou  thunder  with  a  voice  like  him  ? 
lo      Deck  thyself  now  with  majesty  and  excellency; 

And  array  thyself  with  glory  and  beauty. 

of  God  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  his  eye  saw  Him,  and  he 
abhorred  his  former  words  ajid  demeanour,  and  repented  in  dust  and 
ashes. 

6.     the  'whirl~wind'\  As  before,  the  storm. 

8.     The  verse  reads, 

Wilt  thou  even  disannul  my  right? 

Wilt  thou  condemn  me  that  thou  mayest  be  righteous? 

To  disannul  Jehovah's  "right"  does  not  seem  to  mean,  to  depose 
Him  from  His  place  as  Supreme,  but  rather  to  break,  or  make  void, 
that  is,  deny  His  rectitude  as  Ruler  of  the  world.  The  second  clause 
suggests  this  meaning,  and  also  adds  the  motive  under  which  Job  denied 
the  rectitude  of  God,  namely,  that  he  himself  might  be  righteous,  or  in 
the  right.  The  word  even  suggests  that  this  is  an  offence  against  God 
additional  to  the  former  one  of  daring  to  contend  with  Him  (z/.  ■2). 

9 — 14.  As  Job  questions  the  manner  of  the  Almighty's  rule  of  the 
world,  God  invites- him  to  deck  himself  with  the  thunder  and  majesty  of 
the  supreme  ruler,  and  himself  undertake  the  government  of  the  world; 
and  in  the  execution  of  this  government  to  bring  low  all  that  is  proud 
(comp.  Is.  ii.  12  scq.),  to  subdue  and  keep  down  the  forces  of  evil,  and 
hide  the  faces  of  the  wicked  in  darkness. 

Under  this  ironical  invitation  to  Job  there  lie  two  general  thoughts, 
first,  that  omnipotence  is  necessary  in  the  ruler  of  all ;  and  second,  that 
rule  of  the  world  consists  in  keeping  in  check  the  forces  of  evil.  This 
is  the  idea  under  which  rule  of  the  world  is  conceived;  in  other  words  it 
is  regarded  as  necessarily  moral;  and  it  is  assumed  that  God's  rule  is  in 
fact  a  rule  of  this  kind.  In  his  present  frame  of  mind  Job  probably 
would  not  now  contest  this.  IJut  if  God's  rule  be  moral  on  the  whole, 
it  must  be  so  in  every  particular;  real  exceptions  are  inconceivable, 
however  like  exceptions  many  things  may  appear. 

10.     This  verse  reads  literally. 

Deck  thyself  now  with  excellency  and  loftiness; 
7\.nd  array  thyself  with  honour  and  majesty. 

The  two  words  in  the  second  clause  are  so  translated,  Ps.  xxi.  5,  xcvi. 
(t,  civ.  I. 


vv.  II— 15.]  JOB,  XL.  279 

Cast  abroad  the  rage  of  thy  wrath :  : 

And  behold  every  one  that  is  proud,  and  abase  him. 

Look  on  every  one  that  is  proud,  and  bring  him  low; 

And  tread  down  the  wicked  in  their  place. 

Hide  them  in  the  dust  together;  j 

And  bind  their  faces  in  secret. 

Then  will  I  also  confess  unto  thee 

That  thine  own  right  hand  can  save  thee. 

Behold  now  behemoth,  : 

11.  cast  abroad  the  rage  of  thy  wrath']  Or,  ?end  forth  the  floods  of 
thy  wrath;  the  figure  is  that  of  a  raging,  overflowing  stream. 

12.  in  their  place]  That  is,  where  they  stand ;  suddenly  and  on  the 
spot,  comp.  ch.  xxxiv.  26. 

13.  bind  their  faces  in  secret]  lit.  bind  up  their  faces  in  the  hidden 
place,  that  is,  shut  them  up  in  the  darkness  of  the  prison-house  of  Death. 

14.  The  verse  reads, 

Then  will  I  also  praise  thee. 

That  thine  own  right  hand  can  save  thee. 

If  Job  will  shew  himself  worthy  of  that  place  to  which  he  aspires 
■when  he  reproves  the  rule  of  God  in  the  universe,  then  even  Jehovah 
Himself,  wlio  elsewhere  says,  "  Is  there  a  God  beside  me?  yea  there  is 
no  God;  I  know  not  any"  (Is.  xliv.  8),  will  admit  his  independent 
might,  and  laud  him  as  one  whose  own  right  hand  can  save  him,  comp. 
Ps.  xcviii.  I  ;  Is.  lix.  16,  Ixiii.  5. 

15— ch.  xli.  34.  Description  of  two  monsters.  Behemoth  and  Le- 
viathan. 

Many  writers  consider  the  two  passages,  ch.  xl.  15 — 24  and  ch.  xli., 
in  which  Behemoth  and  Leviathan  are  described,  to  be  interpolations 
(see  the  Introduction).  Whether  the  passages  be  interpolations  or 
parts  of  the  original  poem,  the  meaning  of  their  introduction  in  this 
place  will  be  the  same. 

In  ch.  xl.  6 — 14  Jehovah  invited  Job  to  assume  the  rule  of  the  world, 
and  to  bring  low  all  opposing  forces  of  evil.  He  is  able  to  do  this, 
seeing  he  challenges  the  rule  of  the  Almighty.  And  to  bring  to  his 
consciousness  whether  he  is  able  or  not  two  creatures,  the  work  of  God's 
hand  like  himself  {v.  15),  are  brought  before  him  and  the  question  put, 
Is  he  able  to  enter  into  conflict  with  tjiein  and  subdue  them  ?  Is  he 
therefore  able  to  assume  the  rule  of  the  world  or  to  enter  into  conflict 
with  the  Creator  of  these  formidable  monsters? — "  Who  then  will  stand 
before  me?"  ch.  xli.  9 — 11. 

15.  Behold  now  behemoth]  The  word,  behemoth,  may  be  a  Heb.  plur. 
of  intensity,  signifying  the  beast  or  ox,  par  excellence  ;  but  probably  it  is 
an  Egyptian  name  Hebraized.  It  has  been  supposed  to  be  the  Egyptian 
p-ehe-tnont,  i.e.  the  water,  or  river  ox.  At  all  events  the  animal  re- 
ferred to  appears  to  be  the  hippopotamus,  or  river-horse,  of  the  Greeks. 


2So  JOB,   XL.  [vv.  i6— 21. 

Which  I  made  with  thee; 

He  eateth  grass  as  an  ox. 

Lo  now,  his  strength  is  in  his  loins. 

And  his  force  is  in  the  navel  of  his  belly. 

He  moveth  his  tail  like  a  cedar: 

The  sinews  of  his  stones  are  wrapt  together. 

His  bones  are  as  strong  pieces  of  brass; 

His  bones  are  like  bars  of  iron. 

He  is  the  chief  of  the  ways  of  God: 

He  that  made  him  can  make  his  sword  to  approach  7cnfo 

him. 
Surely  the  mountains  bring  him  forth  food, 
^Vhere  all  the  beasts  of  the  field  play. 
He  lieth  under  the  shady  trees, 

/  made  with  thec\  Or,  have  made  witli  tliee  ;  that  is,  have  created, 
as  well  as  thee.  This  strange  animal,  though  fitted  by  his  size  and 
strength  to  prey  upon  other  creatures,  feeds  upon  grass  like  the  cattle. 

16 — 18.     These  verses  read, 

1 6.  Lo  now,  his  strength  is  in  his  loins. 
And  his  force  in  the  sinews  of  his  belly. 

17.  lie  bendeth  his  tail  like  a  cedar; 

The  muscles  of  his  thighs  are  knit  together. 
iS.     His  bones  are  pipes  of  brass; 
Ilis  limbs  are  like  bars  of  iron. 

17.  The  "tail"  of  the  hippopotamus  is  short,  naked  and  muscular, 
resembling  that  of  the  hog.  Tiie  great  strength  of  the  animal  may  be 
inferred  from  the  muscular  stiffness  of  the  tail,  which  bends  like  the 
branch  or  young  stem  of  a  cedar. 

18.  stroni^ pieces  of  brass\  Rather  literall}',  are  pipes  of  brass. 

19.  20.     These  verses  arc  connected, 

19.    He  is  the  chief  of  tlie  ways  of  God; 

He  that  made  him  provideth  him  with  his  sword; 
10.  P'or  the  mountains,  &c. 
By  "chief,"  lit.  beginning,  is  meant  the  first  in  magnitude  and  power, 
in  whom  the  full,  fresh  creative  force  has  embodied  itself.  Tiie  meanin" 
of  the  second  clause  is  less  certain.  The  reference  seems  to  be  to  the 
teeth  or  the  eye-tusks  of  the  hippopotamus,  which  are  said  to  be  two 
feet  long,  and  with  which  he  shears  the  vegetation  as  with  a  sword  or 
sickle. 

20.  The  verse  seems  to  mean  that  in  order  to  satisfy  his  hunger  the 
animal  depastures  whole  mountains,  tracts  where  all  the  beasts  of  the 
field  play.  The  hippopotamus  is  said  to  wander  to  tlie  higher  grounds, 
at  a  distance  from  the  river,  when  food  cannot  be  found  in  its  vicinity. 

21.  the  sliady  trccs\     Ratlier,  the  lotus  trees.     And  so  in  t'.  22. 


w.  22— 24;  I-3-]         JOB,  XL.  XLI. 


281 


In  the  covert  of  the  reed,  and  fens. 

The  shady  trees  cover  him  ivith  their  shadow;  22 

The  willows  of  the  brook  compass  him  about. 

Behold,  he  drinketh  up  a  river,  and  hasteth  not :  23 

He  trusteth  that  he  can  draw  up  Jordan  into  his  mouth. 

He  taketh  it  with  his  eyes:  24 

His  nose  pierceth  through  snares. 

Canst  thou  draw  out  leviathan  with  a  hook  ?  41 

Or  his  tongue  with  a  cord  which  thou  lettest  down  ? 

Canst  thou  put  a  hook  into  his  nose  ?  2 

Or  bore  his  jaw  through  with  a  thorn  ? 

Will  he  make  many  supplications  unto  thee  ?  3 

23.  The  verse  means, 

Behold  the  stream  swelleth,  he  tremblcth  not; 

He  is  careless,  though  Jordan  break  forth  upon  his  mouth. 
The  word  "  swelleth  "  means  lit.  oppresses,  that  is,  rushes  violently 
against  him.     The  term  "Jordan,"  or  "a  Jordan,"  is  used  by  way  of 
example,  meaning  a  violent  outbreak   of  water.     The  term   "break 
forth"  is  that  used  of  the  sea,  ch.  xxxviii.  8. 

24.  The  meaning  probably  is, 

Shall  they  take  him  before  his  eyes? 

Or  pierce  through  his  nose  with  a  snare? 
"Before  his  eyes"  or  "in  his  sight"  (Prov.  i.  17),  that  is,  openly, 
Avhen  the  animal  is  aware.  The  words  might  be  taken  ironically  :  Let 
Hum  take  him  before  his  eyes  I  k.c.  (comp.  v.  32),  but  the  interrogative 
form  is  more  natural.  Others  consider  the  language  to  be  a  statement 
of  fact :  they  take  him  before  his  eyes,  &c.  But  with  this  sense  the 
whole  meaning  of  the  introduction  of  the  creature  in  this  chapter  disap- 
pears. Such  a  description  might  have  found  a  place  in  the  gallery  of 
animal  portraits  in  the  previous  chapter,  but  as  a  companion  picture  to 
that  of  Leviathan  it  is  out  of  place. 

Ch.  xli.     Leviathan,  that  is,  the  crocodile. 

1 — 9.     The  impossibility  of  capturing  the  animal. 

1.  The  second  clause  appears  to  mean, 

Wilt  thou  press  down  his  tongue  with  a  cord  ? 
The  "  cord  "  may  be  that  of  the  hook  ;  when  the  hook  is  swallowed 
and  the  cord  drawn  tightly,  it  presses  down  the  tongue. 

2.  a  hook]  lit.  a  cord  of  rusli. 
a  t]iorii\  That  is,  a  spike. 

The  reference  in  the  first  clause  may  be  to  the  habit  of  passing  a  cord 
through  the  gills  of  fish  when  caught,  and  letting  them  down  into  the 
water  again,  to  preserve  them  in  freshness. 

3.  Ironical  question  whether  Leviathan  will  beg  to  be  spared  or 
treated  kindly. 


282  JOB,   XLI.  [vv.  4— II. 

Will  he  speak  soft  words  unto  thee  ? 

Will  he  make  a  covenant  with  thee  ? 

Wilt  thou  take  him  for  a  servant  for  ever? 

Wilt  thou  play  with  him  as  tenth  a  bird  ? 

Or  wilt  thou  bind  him  for  thy  maidens. 

Shall  the  companions  make  a  banquet  of  him  ? 

Shall  they  part  him  among  the  merchants  ? 

Canst  thou  fill  his  skin  with  barbed  irons  ? 

Or  his  head  with  fish  spears  ? 

Lay  thine  hand  upon  him, 

Remember  the  battle,  do  no  more. 

] iehold,  the  hope  of  him  is  in  vain : 

Shall  not  one  be  cast  down  even  at  the  sight  of  him  ? 

None  is  so  fierce  that  dare  stir  him  up : 

Who  then  is  able  to  stand  before  me  ? 

Who  hath  prevented  me,  that  I  should  repay  him  ? 

4.  Will  he  consent  to  be  one  of  thy  domesticated  animals,  and  serve 
thee  ? 

6.  Wilt  thou  make  a  pet  thing  of  him?  The  commentators  quote 
Catulhis,  passer,  deliciiz  inei£  pucllce. 

6.     The  first  clause  reads. 

Will  the  partners  bargain  over  him  ? 

This  sense  is  sustained  by  the  second  clause;  comp.  ch.  vi.  27.  By 
"  the  partners  "  is  meant  the  company  of  fishermen ;  comp.  Luke  v. 
7,  10. 

i/ie  vterchants'\  lit.  the  Canaamtcs.  The  Phoenicians  were  the  great 
merchants  of  antiquity;  comp.  Is.  xxiii.  8;  Zech.  xiv.  21;  Prov. 
.\xxi.  24. 

8.  The  verse  is  ironical, 

Lay  thine  hand  upon  him  ! 

Think  of  the  battle  :  thou  shalt  do  so  no  more. 
The  last  words,  ihoti  shall  do  so  no  more  (so  the  Geneva),  refer  to  the 
ironical  advice  given  in  the  first  clause,   "lay  thine  hand  upon  him"! 
The  thought  of  the  "battle,"  that  is,  the  conflict,  will  be  sufficient  to 
deter  from  any  attempt  to  renew  it. 

9.  the  hope  of  him  is  in  vain]  Rather,  beliold,  one's  liope  is  belied; 
lit.  his  hope.  The  hope  of  the  assailant  to  overcome  Leviathan  is  dis- 
appointed. 

10.  11.  In  these  verses  the  speaker  turns  aside  from  describing  the 
invincibility  of  Leviathan  to  impress  the  moral  which  he  intends  to 
teach  by  introducing  the  monster.  If  none  dare  stir  up  this  creature, 
which  God  has  made,  who  will  stand  before  God  who  created  him,  or 
venture  to  contend  with  Him  ? 

11.  laho  hath  prevented  me]  Rather,  wlio  liath  first  given  to  me  ? 


TV.  12—17.]  JOB,   XLI.  283 

W/iatsoevcj-  is  under  the  whole  heaven  is  mine. 

I  will  not  conceal  his  parts, 

Nor  his  power,  nor  his  comely  proportion. 

Who  can  discover  the  face  of  his  garment  ? 

Or  who  can  come  to  him  with  his  double  bridle  ? 

Who  can  open  the  doors  of  his  face  ? 

His  teeth  are  terrible  round  about. 

His  scales  aj-e  his  pride, 

Shut  up  together  as  with  a  close  seal. 

One  is  so  near  to  another, 

That  no  air  can  come  between  them. 

They  are  joined  one  to  another, 

They  stick  together,  that  they  cannot  be  sundered. 

So  Tyndale,  Or  tolio  hathe  geven  me  anye  thinge  afore  hand,  that  I  am 
bounde  to  reward  him  agayne?  As  none  dare  contend  with  God  {v.  10), 
so  none  have  any  ground  of  contention  with  Him.  None  hath  given 
aught  to  God,  so  as  to  have  a  claim  against  Him,  for  all  things  under 
the  heavens  are  His  ;  comp.  Ps.  1.  10  seq. 

12 — 34.     Description  of  the  parts  of  Leviathan. 

13,  14.     The  terrible  jaws  of  the  animal. 

13.  The  verse  reads, 

Who  hath  uncovered  the  face  of  his  garment? 

Or  who  will  enter  into  his  double  jaw? 
The  "face  of  his  garment  "  seems  to  mean  the  upper  side  or  surface 
of  his  coat  of  scales,  his  armour ;  and  the  question  is,  Who  has  turned 
back,  or  removed  this  scaly  covering  ?  The  question  seems  a  general, 
preliminary  one,  as  the  scales  are  more  particularly  described  xxw.  15 
seq.  His  "double  jaw"  is  lit.  his  double  bridle,  the  term  "bridle" 
referring  particularly  perhaps  to  the  corners  of  his  jaws. 

14.  zt'ho  can  open']  Or,  who  hath  opened.  The  "doors  of  his  face  " 
is  an  expression  for  his  "  mouth  "  which  has  something  artificial  and 
forced  in  it. 

his  teeth  are  terrible']  The  jaws  of  the  crocodile  are  very  extended  ;  the 
two  rows  of  long,  pointed  teeth,  thirty-six,  it  is  said,  above,  and  thirty 
beneath,  being  bare,  as  the  mouth  has  no  lips,  present  a  formidable 
appearance. 

15 — 17.     His  armour  of  scales. 

15.  his  scales  are  his  pride']  Rather,  the  rows  of  his  shields  are 
a  pride.  Each  of  his  scales  is  a  shield,  and  they  are  disposed  in  rows, 
or  courses,  lit.  pipes  (ch.  xl.  i8),  so  called  from  their  being  curved  or 
bossed.  Of  these  rows  there  are  said  to  be  seventeen.  The  second 
clause  describes  the  firmness  and  closeness  with  which  each  scale 
adheres  to  the  body. 

16.  17.  These  verses  refer  to  the  close  coherence  of  the  scales  to 
one  another. 


284  JOB,  XLI.  [vv.  18—23. 

By  his  neesings  a  light  doth  shine, 

And  his  eyes  arc  hke  the  eyehds  of  the  morning. 

Out  of  his  mouth  go  burning  lamps, 

Atid  sparks  of  fire  leap  out. 

Out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke, 

As  out  of  ^  seething  pot  or  caldron. 

His  breath  kindleth  coals, 

And  a  flame  goeth  out  of  his  mouth. 

In  his  neck  remaineth  strength, 

And  sorrow  is  turned  into  joy  before  him. 

The  flakes  of  his  flesh  are  joined  together: 

They  are  firm  in  themselves;  they  cannot  be  moved. 

18 — 21.     The  monster  breathes  smoke  and  flame. 

18.  The  animal  is  said  to  inflate  itself,  as  it  lies  basking  in  the  sun, 
and  then  force  the  heated  breath  through  its  nostrils,  which  in  the  sun 
ajjpears  like  a  stream  of  light. 

the  eyelids  of  the  moriiiiig\  The  reference  maybe  to  the  shining  of  the 
reddish  eyes  of  the  animal,  which  are  seen  even  under  tlie  water,  before 
its  head  comes  to  the  surface.  In  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphs  the  eyes  of 
the  crocodile  are  a  symbol  of  the  dawn. 

19 — 21.  These  verses  refer  probably  to  the  animal's  emergence 
from  the  water,  when  the  long-repressed  hot  breath  is  blown  out  along 
with  water  from  his  mouth,  and  shines  in  the  sun  like  a  tiery  stream. 

19.  burning  lamps'l  Or,  burning  torches. 

20.  as  out  of  a  seething  pot  or  caldron^  Rather  perhaps,  like  a 
seething  pot  with  rushes,  i.e.  with  a  fire  of  rushes. 

22 — 24.     His  strength  and  hardness  of  muscle. 

22.  The  verse  means. 

In  his  neck  dwelleth  strength, 

And  terror  leapeth  up  before  him. 
His  neck  is  the  dwelling-place,  the  home  of  strength;  and  wherever 
he  appears  terror  leaps  up.     The  prosaic  meaning  in  the  last  words  is 
that  in  the  presence  of  Leviathan  every  thing  starts  up  affrighted  and 
seeks  escape. 

23.  The  verse  reads. 

The  flakes  of  his  flesh  cleave  fast  together; 

It  is  firm  upon  him,  it  is  not  moved. 
The  "flakes"  of  his  flesh  are  the  parts  beneath  the  neck  and  belly, 
which  in  most  animals  are  soft  and  pendulous;  in  him  they  are  firm 
and  hard.  In  the  second  clause  it  refers  to  his  flesh,  which  is  "firm,'' 
lit.  cast  or  molten,  and  does  not  move,  or  shake,  with  the  motions  of 
hi-s  body. 

24.  The  second  clause  reads. 

Yea,  firm  as  the  nether  millstone. 


vv.  24-3I-]  JOB,  XLI.  285 

His  heart  is  as  firm  as  a  stone;  24 

Yea,  as  hard  as  a  piece  of  the  nether  millstone. 

When  he  raiseth  up  himself,  the  mighty  are  afraid :  25 

By  reason  of  breakings  they  purify  themselves. 

The  sword  of  him  that  layeth  at  him  cannot  hold  :  26 

The  spear,  the  dart,  nor  the  habergeon. 

He  esteemeth  iron  as  straw,  27 

And  brass  as  rotten  wood. 

The  arrow  cannot  make  him  flee :  28 

Slingstones  are  turned  with  him  into  stubble. 

Darts  are  counted  as  stubble :  29 

He  laugheth  at  the  shaking  of  a  spear. 

Sharp  stones  are  under  him:  _  3° 

He  spreadeth  sharp  pointed  things  upon  the  mire. 

He  maketh  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot:  31 

Gen.  "as  hard  as  the  nether  millstone."  The  term  "firm,"  lit. 
cast,  is  repeated  from  the  first  clause  (cf.  v.  23).  The  nether  millstone, 
bearing  all  the  pressure  upon  it,  needs  to  be  harder  even  than  the 
upper  stone. 

25.  With  his  "firmness"  of  heart  there  naturally  goes  a  correspond- 
ing courage  and  fierceness. 

by  reason  of  breakings]  Rather,  by  reason  of  terrors  tbey  are  be- 
side themselves;  lit.  they  lose  theiiisclves.  The  Geneva  \-\2s:  Jor  fear 
they  faint  in  themselves.  The  expression  "  lose  themselves"  seems  more 
naturally  said  of  mental  confusion  from  terror,  than  of  literally  losing 
their  way  in  their  attempts  to  escape  (Gesen.). 

26 — 29.     He  can  be  subdued  by  no  weapon. 

26.  that  layeth  at  hini\  That  is,  that  striketh  at  him ;  lit.  he  that 
layeth  at  him  with  the  szuord, — it  doth  not  hold.  The  sword  does  not 
hold,  or  bite,  but  glances  off  his  adamantine  armour. 

the  habergeon]  I'hat  is,  the  mail.  "  And  be  ye  apparelled  or  clothed, 
saith  Paul,  with  the  habergeon,  or  coat  armour  of  justice,"  Latimer, 
Serm.  p.  29  (Wright,  Bible  Word-Book). 

29.  darts  are  counted]  Rather,  clubs. 

30.  The  impression  left  where  he  has  lien. 

Under  him  he  hath  sharp  potsherds. 
He  spreadeth  a  threshing-sledge  upon  the  mire. 
The  scales  of  the  belly,  though  smoother   than   those   on   the  back, 
still  are  sharp,  particularly  those  under  the  tail,  and  leave  an  impression 
on  the  mire  where  he  has  lien  as  if  a  sharp  threshing-sledge  with  teeth 
had  stood  on  it  or  gone  over  it  (Is.  xli.  15). 

31.  The  commotion  he  raises  in  the  deep. 

The  second  clause  of  the  verse  hardly  refers  to  fermentation  in  the 
pot  of  ointment,  but  rather  to  the  foaming  mixture  of  ingredients. 


286  JOB,   XLI.  XLII.  [vv.  32— 34;  1,2. 

He  maketh  the  sea  like  a  pot  of  ointment. 

32  He  maketh  a  path  to  shine  after  him; 
One  would  think  the  deep  to  be  hoary. 

33  Upon  earth  there  is  not  his  like, 
Who  is  made  without  fear. 

34  He  beholdcth  all  high  things: 

He  is  a  king  over  all  the  children  of  pride. 
42  Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 
2      I  know  that  thou  canst  do  every  thing, 

And  that  no  thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee. 

32.  The  verse  refers  to  the  shining  track  whicli  his  swift  darting 
through  the  water  leaves  l^eliind  him. 

33,  34.     He  lias  no  rival,  he  is  king  among  the  proud  beasts. 

33.  zvho  is  made\  That  is,  he  who  is  made  without  fear — so  as  to 
fear  nothing. 

34.  he  bcholdeth  all  high  things]  Or,  he  looketh  on  all  that  is  high ; 
he  looks  them  boldly  in  the  face  without  terror. 

t/ie  children  of  pride\    That  is,  the  proud  beasts ;  comp.  cli.  xxviii.  8. 

Ch.  XLII.  I — 6.    Job's  reply  to  the  Lord's  Second  Address 
FROM  THE  Storm. 

The  Lord's  words  make  Job  feel  more  deeply  than  before  that  great- 
ness which  belongs  to  God  alone,  and  with  deep  compunction  he  re- 
tracts his  past  words  and  repents  in  dust  and  ashes. 

2.     do  every  thitig]     Or,  canst  do  all. 

710  thought  can  be  withholden]  That  is,  no  purpose.  The  meaning  is 
that  there  is  no  purpose  wiiich  the  Almiglity  cannot  carry  out.  Though 
literally  the  words  seem  merely  an  acknowledgement  of  power,  they  are 
also  an  admission  of  wisdom,  the  plans  or  purposes  of  which  may  be 
beyond  the  understanding  of  man  (7-'.  3).  Job  does  not,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  acknowledge  tlie  Divine  rigliteousness.  His  confession 
corresponds  to  the  Almighty's  address  to  him.  That  address  did  not 
insist  on  any  one  Divine  aUribute,  but  rather  presented  God  in  the 
whole  circle  of  His  attributes,  power  and  wisdom  but  also  goodness, 
for  He  refreshes  the  thirsty  ground  wliere  no  man  is.  He  feeds  the 
ravens,  and  presides  over  the  birth-pangs  of  the  goats  of  the  rock ;  and 
His  omnipotence  goes  hand  in  hand  with  His  moral  rule  (ch.  xl.  9  av/.). 
The  Divine  nature  is  not  a  segment  but  a  circle.  Any  one  Divine 
attribute  implies  all  others.  Omnipotence  cannot  exist  apart  from 
righteousness.  Similarly  Job's  reply  reflects  the  great,  general  im- 
pression of  God  now  made  on  him.  The  exhibition  of  the  Divine  wis- 
dom as  it  operates  in  nature  has  led  him  to  feel  that  witliin  his  own 
history  also  there  is  a  divine  "thought"  or  "counsel,"  though  he  is 
unable  to  understand  it.  It  can  hardly,  however,  be  the  Author's 
purpose  to  teach  the  general  principle  tliat  the  "counsel"  of  God  is 
rncompreliensible,  because  he  gives  an  explanation  of  it  in  the  Pro- 


vv.  3—6.]  JOB,   XLII.  287 

Who  is  he  that  hideth  counsel 

Without  knowledge  ? 

Therefore  have  I  uttered  that  I  understood  not ; 

Things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not. 

Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak: 

I  will  demand  of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me. 

I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear: 

But  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee. 

Wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent 

In  dust  and  ashes. 

logue.  He  is  not  teaching  general  principles  here,  but  shewing  the 
position  which  just  thoughts  of  God  will  induce  a  man  to  take,  even 
when  God's  dealings  may  be  beyond  his  understanding. 

3.  w/io  is  he  that  hideth']  That  is,  that  obscures  counsel.  The  words 
of  the  Almighty  (ch.  xxxviii.  2)  echo  through  Job's  mind,  and  he  re- 
peats them,  speaking  of  himself.  The  rest  of  the  verse  expands  the 
idea  of  "obscuring  counsel,"  or  states  its  consequence.  As  one  that 
obscured  counsel  Job  had  uttered  that  which  he  understood  not.  The 
reference  is  to  his  former  judgments  regarding  God's  operations  in  the 
world,  and  the  rashness  of  his  own  language. 

4.  hear,  I  beseech  thee]  Or,  hear  notv,  and  I  will  speak.  The 
words  are  not  an  entreaty  on  the  part  of  Job  that  the  Almighty  would 
further  instruct  him;  they  are  a  repetition  of  the  words  of  the  Lord 
(ch.  xxxviii.  3,  xl.  7).  The  verse  is  closely  connected  with  v.  5,  which 
suggests  under  what  feeling  Job  repeats  the  words  of  God  to  him. 
He  recites  the  divine  challenge  and  puts  it  away  from  him — -"Declare 
unto  thee!  {v.  4)  that  be  far  from  me;  I  had  heard  of  thee  with  the 
hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee"  (v.  5).  This  is  more 
natural  than  to  suppose  v.  4  uttered  with  a  kind  of  self-irony,  as  if  Job, 
in  repeating  the  words  of  the  divine  challenge,  also  entered  into  the 
ironical  spirit  of  it.  In  cither  case  v.  5  has  a  half-apologetic  meaning, 
accounting  for  Job's  former  rashness. 

5.  /  have  heani]  Rather  perhaps,  I  had  heard.  Job's  former 
knowledge  of  God,  though  he  had  prided  himself  upon  it  (cli.  xii. — xiii.), 
seems  to  him  now  only  such  a  knowledge  as  one  gets  by  hearsay,  con- 
fused and  defective.  His  present  knowledge  is  that  of  eyesight,  im- 
mediate and  full  (Is.  lii.  8). 

6.  The  effect  of  this  deeper  knowledge  of  God  upon  Job's  heart. 

/  abhor  i)iyself\  The  word  myself  is  not  expressed  ;  what  has  to  be 
supplied  as  the  object  of  "abhor"  is  rather  it,  that  is,  my  former  lan- 
guage and  demeanour.     The  word  means,  I  retract,  or  repudiate. 

Cii.  XLII.  7 — 17.    Job,  having  humbled  himself  hefore  God, 

IS     RESTORED    TO    A    PROSPERITY    TWO-FOLD    THAT    WHICH    HE 
ENJOYED   BEFORE. 

7 — 9.     Job   is   commanded   to   intercede   for  his   three  friends  lest 


288  JOB,   XLII.  [vv.  7—9. 

7  And  it  was  so,  that  after  the  Lord  had  spoken  these 
words  unto  Job,  the  Lord  said  to  EUphaz  the  Temanite, 
My  wrath  is  kindled  against  thee,  and  against  thy  two 
friends:  for  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  that  is  right, 

8  as  my  servant  Job  hath.  Therefore  take  unto  you  now 
seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams,  and  go  to  my  servant  Job, 
and  offer  up  for  yourselves  a  burnt  offering;  and  my  servant 
Job  shall  pray  for  you:  for  him  will  I  accept:  lest  /  deal 
with  you  after  your  folly,  in  that  ye  have  not  spoken  of  me 

9  the  thing  which  is  right,  like  my  servant  Job.  So  Eliphaz 
the  Temanite  and  Bildad  the  Shuhite  and  'Zophar  the 
Naamathite  went,  and   did  according  as  the  Lord  com- 

Jehovah  sliould  visit  their  folly  upon  them,  because  they  spoke  not  that 
which  was  right  concerning  Him. 

7.  the  thing  -which  is  right']  The  Lord  blames  the  three  friends  for 
not  speaking  that  which  was  right  concerning  Hitn,  not  concerning 
Job ;  He  also  commends  Job  for  speaking  what  was  right  concerning 
Him.  It  is  obvious  that  the  three  friends  spoke  many  just  and  pro- 
found tilings  concerning  God,  and  that  Job  on  the  other  hand  said 
many  things  that  were  both  blameworthy  and  false,  things  for  which  he 
was  both  rebuked  by  the  Almighty,  and  expressed  his  penitence.  The 
reference  cannot  be  to  such  things  as  these.  Neither  can  the  charge 
made  against  the  friends  here  be  merely  that  brought  against  them  by 
fob,  that  they  did  not  speak  in  honesty  and  sincerity  (ch.  vi.  25,  xiii. 
7),  though  this  may  be  included.  Rather,  the  friends  are  blamed  for 
speaking  in  regard  to  God  that  which  was  not  right,  or  true,  in  itself; 
and  the  reference  must  be  to  the  theories  they  put  forth  in  regard  to 
God's  providence  and  the  meaning  of  afflictions.  On  this  point  the 
friends  spoke  in  regard  to  God  what  was  not  right,  while  Job  spoke 
that  which  was  right  (ch.  xxi.,  xxiii. — xxiv.).  The  Author  puts  the 
Divine  imprimatur  on  his  own  theory  of  the  meaning  of  suffering, 
or  at  least  on  Job's  attacks  on  the  theories  advocated  by  the  three 
friends. 

The  three  friends  "had  really  inculpated  the  providence  of  God  by 
their  professed  defence  of  it.  By  disingenuously  covering  up  and 
ignoring  its  enigmas  and  seeming  contradictions,  they  had  cast  more 
(fiscredit  upon  it  than  Job  by  honestly  holding  them  up  to  the  light. 
Their  denial  of  its  apparent  inequalities  was  more  untrue  and  more 
dishonouring  to  the  divine  administration,  as  it  is  in  fact  conducted, 
than  Job's  bold  affirmation  of  them.  Even  his  most  startling  utterances 
wrung  from  him  in  his  bewilderment  and  sore  perplexity  were  less 
reprehensible  than  their  false  statements  and  false  inferences"  (Green, 

Bookofyob,Y>-'2'iS))- 

10 — 16.  Job  is  restored  to  a  prosperity  double  that  which  he 
formerly  enjoyed;  his  former  friends  gather  around  him;  he  is  again 
blessed  with  children;  and  dies,  old  and  full  of  days. 


w.  10—16.]  JOB,  XLII.  289 

manded  them :  the  Lord  also  accepted  Job.  And  the  10 
Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for 
his  friends :  also  the  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as  much  as 
he  had  before.  Then  came  there  unto  him  all  his  brethren,  n 
and  all  his  sisters,  and  all  f/uy  that  had  been  of  his 
acquaintance  before,  and  did  eat  bread  with  him  in  his 
house:  and  they  bemoaned  him,  and  comforted  him  over 
all  the  evil  that  the  Lord  had  brought  upon  him  :  every 
man  also  gave  him  a  piece  of  money,  and  every  one  an 
earring  of  gold. 

So  the  Lord  blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job  more  than  his  12 
beginning :    for  he  had  fourteen  thousand  sheep,  and  six 
thousand   camels,  and  a  thousand   yoke   of  oxen,    and  a 
thousand  she  asses.      He  had  also  seven  sons  and  three  13 
daughters.     And  he  called  the  name  of  the  first,  Jemima;  14 
and  the  name  of  the  second,  Kezia ;  and  the  name  of  the 
third,  Keren-happuch.     And  in  all  the  land  were  no  women  15 
found  so  fair  as  the  daughters  of  Job :  and  their  father  gave 
them    inheritance  among   their  brethren.     After  this  lived  16 

10.  turned  the  captivity]  The  metaphorical  use  of  the  phrase 
would  readily  arise  in  a  state  of  society  like  that  in  the  East.  The 
expression  means  that  Job's  afflictions  were  removed  and  his  pros- 
perity restored. 

11.  Comp.  Job's  sorrowful  lamentations  over  the  alienation  of  all 
his  friends  and  acquaintances,  ch.  xix.  13  sei/. 

piece  of  money]  The  Heb.  is  Kesita,  probably  an  uncoined  piece  of 
silver,  of  a  certain  weight,  Gen.  xxxiii.  19;  Josh.  xxiv.  32. 

12.  The  exact  doubling  of  Job's  former  possessions  shews  that  we  are 
not  reading  literal  history  here. 

13 — 15.  The  former  number  of  Job's  children  is  restored  to  him. 
The  name  Jemima  probably  means  dove,  comp.  Song,  vi.  9,  v.  2 ; 
Kezia  is  cassia,  the  aromatic  spice,  Ps.  xlv.  8,  Song,  i.  3;  and  Keren' 
happiich  means  horn  \qx  box)  of  eye-paint,  puch  being  the  paint  or 
powder  used  by  Oriental  women  to  add  lustre  to  the  eye.  The  Sept. 
curiously  renders  horn  of  A?>ialihm,  cornu  copia:,  horn  of  plenty.  A 
French  commentator  considers  it  important  to  remark  that  "les  trois 
noms  sont  destines  a  relever  les  graces  de  ces  filles,  et  pas  le  moins  du 
monde  leur  coquetterie"  (Reuss). 

15.  inheritance  among  their  brethren']  The  Hebrew  practice  was 
that  the  daughters  inherited  only  when  there  was  no  son,  Numb. 
xxvii.  I  seq.  The  disposition  of  his  property  made  by  Job  would 
retain  the  sisters  in  the  midst  of  their  brethren  even  after  marriage, 
and  allow  the  affectionate  relations  existing  among  Job's  children  to 
continue. 

JOB  19 


290  JOB,   XLII.  [v-  17- 

Job  an  hundred  and  forty  years,  and  saw   his  sons,   and 
17  his  sons'  sons,  even  four  generations.     So  Job  died,  being 
old  and  full  of  days. 

17.  Job  dies,  old  and  full  of  days.  "Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience 
of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of  tlie  Lord;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful, 
and  of  lender  mercy"  (James  v.  11). 


APPENDIX. 


Additional  Note  on  Ch.  xix.  23— ■27. 

In  these  verses  Job  anticipates  that  God  will  appear  and  interpose 
in  hii  behalf  to  vindicate  him,  and  that  he  shall  see  God,  and  he  faints 
before  the  joyful  vision.  The  meaning  is  sufficiently  clear  except  in 
vv.  25,  26,  in  regard  to  which  some  difference  of  opinion  prevails. 
The  point  on  which  interpreters  differ  is  chiefly  the  question.  When, 
according  to  Job's  anticipation,  shall  this  appearance  of  God  on  his 
behalf  take  place?     Shall  it  be  before  or  after  his  death? 

The  difference  of  view  arises  greatly  from  the  ambiguity  of  the  word 
umibbesdri,  and  from  my  flesh,  v.  26  (see  notes),  though  other- points  of 
construction  are  also  involved.  It  is  important  to  observe  the  con- 
nexion of  ideas  in  the  passage,  and  what  the  great  thought  is  which 
fills  Job's  mind.  In  vv.  23,  24  he  desired  that  his  protestations  of 
rectitude  were  written  in  a  book  or  rather  graven  with  an  iron  pen  in 
the  rock  for  ever,  that  all  generations  of  men  to  come  might  read  them 
and  know  that  he  died  in  innocence.  Suddenly  a  higher  thought  takes 
possession  of  his  mind,  namely  the  assurance  that  this  innocence  shall 
yet  be  vindicated  by  God  appearing  to  uphold  it,  and  that  he  himself 
shall  see  God  to  his  joy.  Tiiis  seeing  of  God  includes  all  within  it,  for 
now  God  hides  His  face;  and  this  is  the  main  thought  of  the  passage,  as 
the  impassioned  reiteration  of  it,  v.  27,  indicates.  The  connexion  of 
vv.  25  and  26  is ;  I  know  that  my  Goel  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand 

upon  "the  dust,  and I  shall  see  God.     The  bulk  of  v.  26  contributes 

nothing  to  the  main  idea  of  the  passage,  which  is  the  assurance  of 
seeing  God  ;  it  merely  describes  the  circumstances  in,  or  rather,  after 
which  the  vision  shall  take  place.  This  makes  it  probable  that  the  con- 
struction of  V.  26  is  light,  and  that  its  two  clauses  are  parallel  and  not 
in  antithesis  to  one  another,  in  other  words  that  the  second  clause 
begins  with  and,  not  with  yei.  The  word  afer,  too,  is  a  prep,  in 
the  original,  and  this  fact  increases  the  improbability  of  the  antithetical 
construction. 

i.  The  words  from  J/tv  flesh  might  mean,  (looking) /r^w  my  flesh  I 
shall  see  God,  i.e.  as  A.  V.  in  my  flesh.  Two  interpretations  are  then 
possible,  (i)  that  Job  shall  see  God  after  his  skin  is  destroyed  and  he  is 
reduced  to  a  mass  of  flesh ;  or  (2)  that  endowed  with  flesh  anew,  in 
another  (resurrection)  body  he  shall  see  God.  In  the  one  case  skin  is 
opposed  io  flesh;  in  the  other  it  is  taken  as  denoting  Job's  present 
body.  Both  of  these  interpretations  require  the  second  clause  of  v.  26 
to  be  taken  in  antithesis  to  the  first,  and  are  liable  to  the  objections 

19 — 2 


292  APPENDIX. 


urged  above.  But  in  truth  the  first  sense  is  nothing  short  of  grotesque. 
A  distinction  between  skin  and  flesh  might  be  made,  if  the  second 
expressed  more  strongly  the  same  meaning  with  the  hrst,  but  in  the 
circumstances  to  ])ut  them  in  antithesis  seems  ludicrous.  Considering 
the  nature  of  Job's  malady  lie  could  hardly  express  its  worst  ravages  by 
saying  that  it  would  destroy  his  skin,  leaving  his  flesh  remaioing.  He 
had  already  said  much  stronger  things  than  this  of  his  actual  condition, 
among  others  that  he  was  become  a  skeleton  of  bones,  ch.  vii.  15;  that 
all  his  members  were  a  shadow,  ch.  xvii.  7;  that  his  leanness  bore 
witness  to  his  face,  ch.  xvi.  8,  as  he  says  later  that  his  clothes  clung  to 
his  shrunken  frame  like  the  opening  of  his  shirt,  ch.  xxx.  18;  and  that 
he  was  escaped  with  the  skin  of  his  teeth,  ch.  xix.  20.  Besides,  the 
word  rendered  destroyed  is  literally  struck  off,  a  meaning  which  suggests 
removal  of  the  solid  parts  of  the  body.  And  that  the  word  skin  may  be 
used  in  this  general  sense  of  the  body  appears  from  ch.  xviii.  13. 
Where  flesh  is  used  along  with  skin  the  two  words  express  the  same 
general  meaning,  the  accumulation  of  terms  merely  serving  to  intensify 
the  expression,  ch.  x.  11,  xix.  20;  Lam.  iii.  4;  comp.  Ps.  cii.  5;  Lam. 
iv.  8. 

If  therefore  we  understand  the  words  "from  my  flesh"  in  the  sense 
of  in  my  flesh,  we  must  suppose  that  Job  anticipated  being  clothed  in 
a  new  body  after  death;  and  this  body  is  what  he  names  his  "flesh." 
Something  may  be  said  for  this  view.  Undoubtedly  in  ch.  xiv.  13  seq. 
Job  already  conceived  the  idea  of  being  delivered  from  Sheol  and  living 
again,  and  fervently  prayed  that  such  a  thing  might  be.  And  what  he 
tiiere  ventured  to  long  for  he  might  here  speak  of  as  a  thing  of  which  he 
was  assured.  No  violence  would  be  done  to  the  line  of  thought  in  the 
Book  by  this  supposition.  Nevertheless  several  things  are  against  it. 
The  great  idea  of  the  passage,  as  has  been  said,  is  that  God  shall 
appear  and  that  Job  shall  see  Him.  The  rest  of  the  words  in  v.  26  seem 
unemphatic,  and  descri])tive  of  something  naturally  to  be  understood. 
But  it  is  highly  improbable  that  the  great  thought  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  could  be  referred  to  in  a  way  so  brief.  Even  if  this  idea  had 
been  current  and  a  connnonplace  of  belief,  a  reference  to  it  by  the 
wonls  my  flesh  would  be  singular  and  unnatural.  But  on  Old  Testa- 
ment ground,  and  in  the  situation  of  Job,  such  a  matter-of-course  kind 
of  reference  is  almost  inconceivable.  We  may  be  certain,  had  such  an 
idea  been  alluded  to,  that  it  would  have  been  expressed  in  a  manner 
much  more  formal  and  detailed. 

A  somewhat  different  view  has  been  taken  by  some  scholars. 
Finding  it  difficult  to  accejit  the  meaning  without,  or,  away  from  for 
the  Heb.  prep,  here,  they  retain  the  sitnae />-o'h  (i.e.  in),  and  consider 
the  words  skin  and  flesh  to  be  each  used  somewhat  generally  in  the 
sense  of  the  "body."  Hence  they  translate :  and  after  my  skin  (i.e.  my 
body)  has  been  thus  destroyed,  yet  from  my  flesh  (i.e.  in  this  body  of 
mine.)  I  shall  see  God.  Though  not  liable  to  the  objections  urged  above, 
this  view  is  rather  unnatural.  The  words  skin  and  flesh  express  a  single 
general  idea  when  coupled  together  by  and,  but  that  each  of  them 
should  mean  generally  the  body  when  separated  hy  yet  is  little  probable. 
Though  this  view  agrees  in  rendering  with  i.  above,  it  coincides  in 


APPENDIX.  293 


meaning  with  ii.  (i)  just  to  be  mentioned,  and  is  liable  to  the  difficul- 
ties urged  below. 

ii.  The  words  y;'^;«  my  flesh,  however,  may  mean  away  from,  or, 
without  my  flesh.  In  this  case  the  words  "after  this  my  skin  has  been 
destroyed"  are  taken  up  and  their  meaning  repeated  in  a  more  intense 
form  in  the  phrase  and  without  my  flesh.  This  is  the  natural  con- 
struction. It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  the  language  does  not 
state  in  what  condition  precisely  Job  shall  see  God,  but  rather  after 
what  events,  viz.  after  his  skin  has  been  destroyed  and  his  flesh  has 
been  removed.  Here,  however,  again  a  division  of  opinion  exists, 
(i)  By  some  the  words  are  taken  in  a  comparative  sense,  meaning  that 
Job  shall  see  God  when  his  skin  and  flesh  have  been  (virtually)  destroyed 
by  his  disease  and  he  is  reduced  to  a  skeleton  of  bones — though  still  in 
life.  (2)  By  others  the  language  is  taken  in  an  absolute  sense,  meaning 
that  Job's  vision  of  God  shall  be  after  his  disease  has  wholly  destroyed 
his  body  and  brought  him  to  death.  The  second  view  is  the  more 
natural,  does  most  justice  to  the  language,  and  is  most  in  harmony  with 
the  elevated  character  of  the  passage.  It  is  also  supported  by  many 
considerations  suggested  by  other  parts  of  the  Book. 

Before  these  considerations  are  referred  to  another  remark  may  be 
made.  It  is  always  to  be  remembered  what  is  the  main  thought  here 
in  Job's  mind;  it  is  that  God  shall  appear  to  vindicate  his  innocence,  and 
that  he  shall  see  God  to  his  joy.  The  question  whether  this  shall  be  in 
this  life  or  beyond  this  life  is  of  su'osidiary  importance,  and  not  the 
main  point.  At  present  Job's  afflictions  are  proof  to  him  of  God's 
estrangement.  God  holds  him  guilty  and  hides  His  face  from  him. 
And  his  friends,  arguing  on  his  calamities,  impute  grievous  sins  to  him. 
His  misery  was  very  aggravated  in  every  view.  His  good  name  among 
men  was  sidlied  by  shameful  imputations,  intolerable  to  his  lofty  mind; 
for  the  easy  theory  of  his  friends,  that  one  might  be  a  religious  man  and 
at  the  same  time  a  great  sinner,  he  repudiated  with  abhorrence,  so  far 
as  his  own  life  was  concerned.  Then,  as  a  religious  man,  his  heart 
was  crushed  by  the  loss  of  God's  favour.  And  the  inexplicableness  of 
this  loss,  combined  with  his  unbearable  afflictions  at  God's  hand,  threw 
up  before  his  mind  great  moral  riddles  which  utterly  baffled  him.  In 
this  thick  darkness  he  has  nothing  but  his  own  consciousness  to  fall 
back  upon.  But  his  consciousness  of  his  innocence  assures  him  that 
God  knows  it  also.  And  this  assurance  becomes  the  basis  of  the  other 
assurance  that  God  from  His  nature  must  yet  make  manifest  the  relation 
in  which  His  servant  stands  to  Him,  and  that  he  shall  see  God.  Job's 
assurance  is  based  on  his  own  past  experience,  on  his  life  with  God,  on 
his  consciousness  of  being  a  God-fearing  man,  and  on  his  ineradicable 
convictions  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  God  and  His  relations  to  men. 
Job's  circumstances  cause  his  principle  to  appear  in  its  barest  form : 
the  human  spirit  is  conscious  of  fellowship  with  God,  and  this  fellow- 
ship, from  the  nature  of  God,  is  a  thing  imperishable,  and,  in  spite  of 
obscurations,  it  must  yet  be  fully  manifested  by  God.  This  principle, 
grasped  with  convulsive  earnestness  in  the  prospect  of  death,  became 
the  Hebrew  doctrine  of  Immortality.  This  doctrine  was  but  the 
necessary  corollary  of  religion.     In  this  life  on  earth  the  true  relations 


294  APPENDIX. 


of  men  and  God  were  felt  to  be  realized ;  and  tlie  Hebrew  faith  of 
Immortality — never  a  belief  in  the  mere  existence  of  the  soul  after 
deatii,  for  the  lowest  popular  superstition  assumed  this  (see  notes  on  ch. 
xiv.  13  set/.) — was  a  faith  that  the  dark  and  mysterious  event  of  death 
should  not  interrupt  the  life  of  the  person  with  God  enjoyed  in  this 
world.  Job's  afflictions  make  his  faith  not  so  much  an  assurance  of 
the  continuation  of  his  fellowship  with  God  as  of  its  renewal  or 
manifestation,  and,  of  course,  this  might  take  place  in  this  life.  The 
similarity  of  the  passage,  however,  to  many  others  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, uttered  in  the  prospect  of  death,  makes  it  probable  that  Job 
speaks  with  death  in  view.  And  the  probability  is  heightened  by 
many  other  considerations. 

1.  The  whole  of  the  chapters  xvi. ,  xvii.  and  xix.  are  spoken  by 
Job  under  the  feeling  that  he  shall  die  with  his  innocence  unrecognised. 
Hence  in  ch.  xvi.  18  he  appeals  to  the  earth  not  to  cover  his  innocent 
blood;  and  in  ch.  xix.  24  he  desires  that  his  protestations  of  his 
innocence  might  be  graven  in  the  rock  for  ever,  that  when  he  is  gone 
men  to  all  generations  might  read  them.  There  is  not  the  sligiitest 
ground  to  think  that  in  the  verses  that  follow  these  expressions  in  ch. 
xvi.  and  xix.  Job  retracts  or  corrects  this  anticipation  that  he  shall  die 
an  unjust  death.  The  verses  that  follow  proceed  on  the  same  assump- 
tion, but  they  express  the  prayer  (ch.  xvi. — xvii.)  or  the  assurance  (ch. 
xix.)  that,  tho7Cgh  he  die  with  God's  face  hidden  from  him  and  under 
the  reproach  of  being  a  transgressor,  this  perverse  and  cruel  fate  shall 
not  for  ever  prevail  over  him;  God  shall  yet  appear  to  vindicate  his 
innocence  and  he  shall  see  Him  to  his  joy. 

On  this  view  every  word  in  ch.  xix.  25  seq.  becomes  full  of  meaning. 
Job's  Goel  is  he  who  shall  vindicate  him  against  his  wrongful  death. 
The  word  livdh  derives  its  meaning  from  the  fact  that  Job  shall  have 
died.  The  term  aharon,  however  we  render  it,  whether  "he  who  shall 
come  after  me"  or  with  Ewald  an  after-man,  i.e.  vindicator,  equally 
implies  Job's  previous  death.  Similarly  the  word  dust.  On  the  sup- 
position that  Job's  vindication  shall  be  in  this  life,  every  one  of  those 
words  is  robbed  of  its  just  significance,  and  no  account  at  all  can 
be  given  of  the  use  of  the  term  livdh. 

2.  Further,  it  is  certain  that  Job  does  not  anticipate  restoration  to 
health  and  prosperity  in  this  life.  Neither  in  the  lofty  passages  above 
referred  to  nor  anywhere  does  he  express  such  an  opinion,  but  always 
and  consistently  an  opposite  one.  He  calls  such  a  hope  when  held  out 
by  his  friends  "mockery,"  ch.  xvii.  2;  comp.  ch.  vi.  11,  xvii.  \o  scq. 
So  certain  is  he  that  he  shall  die  under  his  malady  that  he  does  not 
even  pray  for  recovery,  only  for  a  little  easing  of  his  pain  before  he 
departs,  ch.  x.  20.  If  life  is  to  be  his  portion  at  all,  it  must  be  a  new 
life  after  this  one  comes  to  its  rapid  close,  ch.  xiv.  13  scq.  This  is  his 
tone  after  ch.  xix.  as  well  as  before  it.  In  ch.  xxiii.  14  he  says  that 
God  "will  perform  the  thing  appointed  for  him,"  i.e.  bring  him  to 
death  through  his  malady.  And  almost  his  last  words  are,  "  I  know 
that  thou  wilt  bring  me  unto  death,"  ch.  xxx.  23.  It  seems  clear  there- 
fore that  God's  intervention  to  declare  Job's  innocence,  ch.  xix.  23  seq  , 
if  it  take  place  in  this  life,  will  not  be  accompanied  by  Job's  restoration 


APPENDIX.  295 


to  health.  His  disease  will  in  spite  of  it  carry  him  to  the  grave.  But 
could  such  a  thought  have  occurred  to  Job?  His  disease  was  to  him 
the  seal  of  God's  estrangement  from  him.  It  was  God's  witness  to  his 
guilt.  It  was  this  moral  meaning  which  his  death  had  that  caused  him 
so  to  wrestle  against  it  (see  notes  ch.  xvi.  18  «v/.).  It  seems  impossible 
that  Job  could  have  conceived  God  declaring  to  men  and  to  himself  his 
innocence  while  He  continued  to  afflict  him  fatally  with  his  disease. 
To  "  see  God  "  and  to  be  chastened  to  death  by  Him  are  two  things 
■which  on  Old  Testament  ground  are  contradictory  of  one  another. 

The  theory  that  God's  intervention  in  Job's  behalf  is  looked  for  by 
him  in  this  life  is  thought  to  derive  support  from  the  actual  denouement 
of  Job's  history  (ch.  xlii.).  But  the  argument  proves  too  much  by 
a  half.  The  author  allows  Job  to  be  restored  to  prosperity  in  this  life 
in  contradiction  to  Job's  uniform  and  contemptuous  rejection  of  such  a 
hope.  And  he  may  equally  well  have  advanced  Job's  vision  of  God 
into  this  life,  though  Job  pushed  it  back  beyond  his  death.  In  truth, 
as  has  been  said,  the  two  things  are  inseparable.  It  would  be  a  strange 
demand  to  make  of  a  dramatic  writer  that  he  should  make  his  person- 
ages express  only  opinions  that  coincide  with  his  own,  and  allow  them 
to  anticipate  the  issue  of  the  plot.  Certainly  the  author  of  Job  imposes 
no  such  restrictions  on  himself  He  never  allows  Job  to  come  within 
sight  of  the  true  cause  of  his  afflictions,  and  as  little  does  he  permit  him 
to  foresee  their  issue.  It  was  his  purpose  to  bring  into  a  focus  the 
thoughts  of  men  on  the  question  of  suffering,  the  great  problem  of  his 
day ;  and  some  of  the  views  expressed,  particularly  by  Job,  are  those  to 
which  men  were  driven  by  the  pressure  of  the  time,  or  to  which  they 
rose  out  of  the  distress  of  their  own  hearts. 

3.  If,  however,  we  must  conclude  that  Job  looked  for  this  appear- 
ance of  God  on  his  behalf,  and  this  vision  of  Him  to  his  joy,  not  pre- 
vious to  his  death,  we  must  not  attempt  to  fill  up  the  outline  which  he 
has  drawn.  We  must  take  care  not  to  complete  his  sketch  out  of  events 
that  transpired  long  after  his  day,  or  out  of  beliefs,  reposing  on  these 
events,  that  are  now  current  among  ourselves.  The  English  Version 
has  done  so  at  the  expense  of  the  original.  The  great  thought  which 
filled  Job's  imagination  was  the  thought  that  God  would  appear  to 
manifest  his  innocence  and  that  he  should  see  Him  in  peace  and  recon- 
ciliation. This  thought  was  so  intense  that  it  almost  realized  itself. 
Job's  assurance  of  seeing  God  was  so  vivid  that  it  virtually  became 
a  vision  of  God  and  he  famts  in  the  ecstasy  of  his  faith.  In  such  a  con- 
dition of  mind  the  preliminaries  and  the  circumstances  that  would  occur 
to  a  mind  in  a  calmer  state,  or  which  immediately  occur  to  us,  do  not 
obtrude  themselves,  and  if  we  are  rightly  to  conceive  Job's  state  of 
mind  we  must  entirely  exclude  them.  We  should  be  wrong  to  say  that 
he  contemplates  a  purely  spiritual  vision  of  God,  and  further  wrong  to 
say  that  he  contemplates  being  invested  with  a  new  body  when  he  shall 
see  God.  Neither  thought  is  present  to  his  mind,  which  is  entirely 
absorbed  in  the  idea  of  seeing  God.  The  ideas  of  Old  Test,  saints 
regarding  the  condition  of  man  after  death  were  too  obscure  to  permit 
of  any  such  formal  and  precise  conception  as  that  which  we  call  a 
spiritual  sight  of  God.    Besides,  as  the  kind  of  half-ecstasy  under  which 


296  APPENDIX. 


Job  here  speaks  has  fallen  on  him  when  a  living  man,  it  is  probable 
that,  like  all  persons  in  such  conditions,  he  carries  over  with  him  his 
present  circumstances  into  his  vision  after  death,  and  seems  to  himself 
to  be  such  a  man  as  he  is  now  when  he  sees  God ;  comp.  ch.  xix.  25, 
16,  28,  29. 

4.     The  above  remarks  suggest  what  elements  of  truth  lay  in  the 
traditional  interpretation  of  this  passage,  in  spite  of  its  hardy  treatment 
of  the  text.     The  chrislology  of  the  Book  is  indirect.     There  are  no 
express  references  to  the  Messiah,  though  several  passages  may  seem 
unconscious  prophecies  of  Him,  as  those  that   express  Job's  desire  to 
meet  and  see  God  as  a  man,  ch.  ix.  32,  xxiii.  3  s<;t/.      Job's  Got-/  or 
redeemer  is  God.     A  distinction  of  Persons  in  the  Godhead  was  not 
present  to  his  thoughts  when  he  used  this  term, ;  though  the  conception 
of  God  in  the  passage  and  many  things  said  in  it  may  find  verification 
in  God's  manifestation  of  Himself  in  His  Son.     The  strange  distinction 
which  Job  draws  between  God  and  God,  God  who  persecutes  him  and 
God  who  is  his  Witness  and  Redeemer,  is,  of  course,  not  a  chrisiologi- 
cal  distinction,  nor  one  that  corresponds  to  any  distinction  in  the  God- 
head made   known   to   us  by  subsequent  revelation.       To  suppose  so 
would  be  a  gross  perversion  not  only  of  this  Book  but  of  the  whole  of 
Scripture.    The  distinction  was  one  which  Job's  ideas  almost  compelled 
him  to  draw.      He  believed  that  every  event  that  occurred  came  imme- 
diately from  God's  hand  ;  and  he  believed  that  every  event  that  befell  a 
man   reflected   the   disposition   of  God's  mind   toward   him  :    calamity 
indicated  the  anger  and  prosperity  the  favour  of  God.     This  second 
superstition  is  the  source  of  all  his  perplexities ;    and   the  distinction 
which  he  draws  between  God  and   God  is  his  effort  to  overcome  it. 
God  whom  he  appeals  against  is  the  rule  and  course  of  this  world,  the 
outer  providence  of  God,  to  which  Job  can  give  no  name  but  "God." 
God  to  whom  he  appeals  is  the  inner  mind  of  God  towards  His  servants, 
the  moral  ideal   of  the  human  heart.     This  is  God  his  Witness  and 
Redeemer.     Job  succeeded  in  drawing  this  distinction  ;  but  the  recon- 
ciliation which  the  distinction  demanded  he  was  only  partially  success- 
ful in  effecting.     He  could  not  reach  the  idea  that  God,  the  heart  of 
God,  might  be  towards  him,  while  God — the  outer  course  of  the  world 
— afflicted  him.     These  two  things  could  not  be  at  the  same  time.     But 
they  might  succeed  one  another.     Hence  his  reconciliation  is  temporal : 
God  will  bring  him  unto   death,  but  after  his  body  is  destroyed  God 
shall  appear  to  vindicate  him  and  he  shall  see  God, 

The  doctrine  of  Immortality  in  the  Book  is  the  same  as  that  of  other 
parts  of  the  Old  Testament.  Immortality  is  the  corollary  of  Religion. 
It  there  be  religion,  that  is,  if  God  be,  there  is  immortality,  not  of  the 
soul  but  of  the  whole  personal  being  of  man  (Ps.  xvi.  9).  This  teaching 
of  the  whole  Old  Testament  is  expressed  by  our  Lord  with  a  surprising 
incisiveness  in  two  sentences — "  1  am  the  Go  J  of  Abraham.  God  is  not 
the  God  of  the  dead  but  of  the  living." 


INDEX. 


ATiaddon,  183,  198,  215 
abhor,  74,  2S7 

aboriginal  races,  referred  to,  174, 175,  207 
Abraham,  Mohammedan  fable  about,  218 
Adam,  as,  =  like  common  men,  219 
adultery,  a  capital  crime,  215 
aharon,  294 

Ahlwardt,  referred  to,  271 
Ammianus,  quoted,  90 
Angels,  6,  7,  33,  35,  180,  230,  262 
Arabian  Nights,  illustration  from,  218 
arms  of  the  fatherless,  164 
arrows  of  God,  43,  121,  151,  193,  234 
ashes,  14,  96,  211 
asses,  4,  173;  wild,  174,  270,  271 
astronomical  allusions,  184,  267 
AugTibiine,  S.,  quoted,  15 
authorship  and  date  of  Book  of  Job,  Iv — 
Ixviii 

Baal,  247 

ba/ir,  103 

balija,  73 

bands  of  Orion,  266 

bars  of  the  pit,  130 

base  men,  20S 

Bedawin,  10,  37 

before  (not  in  temporal  sense),  24,  33 

behemoth,  279 

belial,  236 

belly,  150,  225 

beine  )(  bemo,  distinction  between,  73 

betimes,  =  earnestly,  57,  60,  174 

Bildad,  comes  to  condole  with  Job,  17  ; 
his  character,  25  ;  his  first  speech,  58 
— 64;  his  second,  130 — 136;  his  third, 
180   181 

Bleek,  referred  to,  xiii,  xxvii 

blood,  =  death,  123 

boils,  13 

book,  142,  220 

booth,  192 

bosses,  114 

bottom  of  the  sea,  252 

bow,  symbolical  of  power,  206 

bowels,  =the  seat  of  feeling,  212 

branch,  116,  135,  205 

breasts,  158 

bribery,  116 

brooks,  47,  48 

build  desolate  places   21 

Burns,  quoted,  47 

Buz,   22 

camels,  4 
caravans,  47 


Carlyle,  quoted,  2615 

Catullus,  quoted,  282 

Chaldeans,  10 

chambers  of  the  south,  68,  254 

chanelbone,  a  marginal  reading,  217 

changes  and  war,  78 

check,  148 

chief  of  the  ways  of  God,  280 

children  of  mine  own  body,  xxxi,  140 

children  of  the  East,  4 

Christology  of  the  Book  of  Job,  296 

Cicero,  quoted,  5,  131 

clapping   of  hands,  token   of  malignant 

gladness  or  scorn,  193,  240 
clay,  in  various  figurative  senses,  33,  77, 

96,  191,  263 
clouds,  184,  210,  252,  255,  268 
cockle,  221 
collar  of  my  coat,  211 
companions,=  partners  in  occupation,  282 
complaint,=  complaining,  54,  73,  75,  154, 

169 
Conant,  referred  to,  xlv,  13,  135,  217,  249 
contend,  a  legal  term,  66,  76,  95,  276 
cords  of  affliction,  747 
Coverdale's  version  quoted,  125,  156,  157, 

223,  226,  228 
Cox's  Comm.  on  Job  quoted,  177,  196 
crocodiles,  20,  283 
crooked  serpent,  185 
cruddled,=curdled,  ch.  x  10 
curse,  5,  9,  15,  20,  36 


darkness,  79,  93,  114,  115,  129,  139,  151, 

164,  172,  194,  256,  264 
day,  in  various  senses,   19,  53,  102,  115, 

136,  173,  263 
daysman,  74 
death, = pestilence,  191 ;  personified,  134, 

135.  198 
debtors,  treatment  of,  49,  175 
declare,  in  various  senses,  182,  igg,  261 
Delitzsch,  referred  to,   xxii,  xxxvi,  1,  lii, 

Ix,  14,  68,  98,  146,  188,  190 
De  Sacy,  referred  to,  56 
desolate,  21,  40,  115,  116,  207 
destruction, ^Sheol,  183,  198,  215;=  mis- 
fortune, calamity,  212,  218 
Dillmann,  referred  to,  14,  33,  igo 
discover,  in  A.  V.  =  uncover,    turn   back, 

93.  283 
dogs,  207 
double  bridle,  283 
Dragon,    the,  or  Leviathan,  of  popular 

mythology,  Ixvi,  20,  54,  69,  185 


298 


INDEX. 


drink,    used    metnphorically,    43,    157; 

drink. ..like  water,  112,  234 
dust,  an  image  expressing  plenty,  191 
dust  of  gold,  195 
dust,  sprinkling  of,  a  sign  of  grief,  18 

eagles,  275 

ear,  =  the  understanding,  91,  229,  234 
Egypt,  icfcrred  to,  69,  196,  205,  220 
elephantiasis,    its   symptoms    described, 

12.  13.  55,  ^22 
Elihu,  meaning  of  the  name,  222;    his 

speeches,  xi,  xl — lii,  221 — 258 
EHphaz,  conies  to  condole  with  Job,  17; 

his  character,  25,  41  ;  his  first  speech, 

27 — 42  ;     his    second,    108 — 116;     his 

third,  162—168 
Elohhn,  6 

end,  in  various  senses,  45,  61,  194 
enterprise,  39 
Euripides,  quoted,  160 
Ewald,  referred  to,  xiv,  xxi,  xxvii,  .xxxviii, 

Ixiv,  138,  144,  146,   158,  165,  174,  17s, 

184,  189,  219,  294 
excellency,  34,  96,  148,  253 
extremity,  244 
eyelids  of  the  morn,  21,  284 

face  of  his  garment,  283 
fash,  244 

feasts  of  Job's  children,  4 
fetters,  247 

filthy,  in  moral  sense,  112 
fire  of  God,  10 
firmament,  67 
firstborn  of  death,  134 
flakes  of  his  flesh,  284 
flesh,  141,  218,  292 

folly.  ".  33.  175 

food,  allusions  to,  in  figurative  sense,  24, 

44,  50,  91,  149,  234.  248 
fool,  15,  16,  36,  92,  20S 
foolishly,  II 
forcible,  48 

gall,  121 

gate,   place   of   rendezvous    in    Eastern 

cities,  36,  203,  216 
Geneva  version  quoted,  15,  082,  283 
Gesenius,  referred  to,  73,  84,  285 
giant,  =  warrior,  121 
girdles,  92,  93 
glass,  197 

glistering,  =  glittering,  ch.  xx.  25 
goats,  270 

go  away,  =be  torn  out,  34 
Godet,  referred  to,  xxxii,  8 
goel,  143,  294,  296 
Goethe,  referred  to,  122 
gold,  257 

grave,  =.S"/i«'o/,  =53,  130,  i55;  =  riiin,  212 
great  men,  =old  men,  224 
Green,  on  Book  of  yob,  quoted,  288 
grief,  in  various  senses,  18,  28,  43,  120 


grin,=gin,  ch.  xviii.  o 
grind  unto  another,  215 
Grotius,  referred  to,  xvii 

habergeon,  285 

Hamasa,  the,  quoted,  52 

hand,  in  various  senses,  90,  97,  156,  217, 

228,  237,  254 
Hauran,  mining  in  the,  196 
Havilah,  of  doubtful  situation,  257 
heart,  in  various  senses,   5  =  ,  61,  67,  81, 

85,  89,  93,  112,  168,258,  268 
hell,  =  67/tv/,  84,  183 
helpers,  69 

Ilengstenberg,  referred  to,  xvii 
hideth  his  face,  100,  238 
hierodoittoi,  247 
hippopotamus,  279 
hireling,  52,  102 
hissing,  a  token  of  scorn,  193 
historical  allusions,  hi,  Ix,  69,  165 
Hitzig,  referred  to,  Ixiv,  19,  83,  90,  iig, 

135,  156,  226,  252 
Horace,  quoted,  5,  252 
horn,  symbol  of  power,  122 
horses,  4,  274 
houses  of  clay,  33 
hunger-bitten,  134 
hypocrite,  62,  98,  116,  128,  148,  189,  247 

Ibn  Ezra,  referred  to,  xiv,  47,  84 

idolatry,  prac'ised  in  Israel,  217 

immortality,  Hebrew  belief  in,  103 — 104, 
143,  291 — 296 

imperatives,  two  co-ordinate,  =  a  prin- 
cipal and  consecutive  clause,  15;  used 
hypothctically,  35;  =  luture,  83 

influences  of  Pleiades,  266 

inheritance,  Heb.  practice  respecting,  289 

iniquity  in  my  tongue,  50 

in  my  flesh,  144,  291 

instruction,  22y 

inward  friends,  141 

inward  parts,  268 

island  of  the  innocent,  1C8 

jackals,  213 

fi'gar  Sahadutha,  124 

Jehovah,  exceptional  employment  of  the 

name,  xxx,  Iv,  11 
Jemima,  =  'dove,'  289 

ierome,  S.,  referred  to,  13,  272 
ob,  his  home,  i,  203;  his  name,  i,  2; 
his  'perfection,' 2 ;  his  family  and 
wealth,  3,  4;  sacrifices  on  behalf  of  his 
children,  5;  his  first  trial,  9 — 12;  his 
second,  12 — 18;  his  wife  'Dinah,' ace. 
toTargum.xx,  15  ;  visited  by  friends  17: 
opens  the  debate  by  'cursing  his  day,' 
18  ;  his  universal  respect,  204 ;  his 
Oriental  hospitality,  218;  restored  to 
twofold  prosperity,  ;88  ;  dies,  290 

Jordan,  281 

Josephus,  referred  to,  xiii 


INDEX. 


299 


judgment,  of  God  contrasted  with  that  of 

man,  248 
juniper  roots,  208 

keemah,  68 

Keren-happuch,  xv,  2S9 

keseel,  68 

kesita,  Ivi,  289 

Kezia,  = '  cassia,'  289 

king  of  terrors,  135 

knees  prevent  me,  21 

Koran,  referred  to,  2,  62,  lit,  218 

Kuenen,  referred  to,  xxviii,  xxxvi,  Ixvii 

landmarks,  173 

Lane,  referred  to,  138,  244 

Latimer,  quoted,  285 

latter  day,  143,  2gi 

lay. ..hand  upon. ..mouth,  signifying  re- 
spect or  awe-struck  silence,  154,  204, 
276 

Layard,  quoted,  274 

lead,  143 

Lebanon,  mining  in  the,  196 

legal  customs  in  the  East,  Ivi,  36,  84,  gg, 
116,  124,  2i6,  220 

Leviathan, =the  Dragon  or  storm-cloud, 
personified  in  popular  mythology,  20, 
54,  69,  185  !  =  the  crocodile,  20,  281 

light,  in  various  senses,  13.3,  176,  181, 
232,  252,  256,  263,  264,  265,  284 

lions,  30,  269 

Locman,  quoted,  73 

lots,  casting  of,  49 

Lowth,  Robert,  Bp,  referred  to,  xvii 

Lucan,  quoted,  73 

Luther,  referred  to,  xiv,  xv,  Ix,  i83 

magicians,  20 
makain,  i 

mallows,  208 

mantles,  11 

Maimonides,  referred  to,  xiv 

mark,  =  obstacle,  57 

mark  (vb.),  165,  176 

Mazzaroth,  267 

Messianic  references,  296 

Michaelis,  J.  D.,  referred  to,  xvii 

Michaelis,  J.  H.,  referred  to,  xvi 

Michie,  referred  to,  136 

midnight,  at,=suddenly,  237 

mighty,  in  various  senses,    48,  92,  164, 

179,  237 
Milton,  quoted,  41,  79,  262 
mining  operations,  194 — 196 
mirrors,  256 

misprint  in  present  text  of  A.V.,  208 
Mohammed,  referred  to,  3,  62,  73, 1 1 1,  217 
money,  weighed  not  counted,  197,  289 
moth,  before  the,  33 
mouth,  39,  91,  115,  119,  149,  217,  253 
my  Maker,  246 
my  mother's  womb,  11 
mythological  ideas,  20,  54,  68,  69,  180, 

181;,  196 


Naamah,  17 

naked,  164,  174 

nephew,  136 

night,  in  various  senses,  ig,  32,  52,  249 

north,  the,  183,  254,  257 

Nukra,    the    traditional   home    of  Job 

placed  in  the,  i 
number  of.. .days,  264  ;... months,  20,  102, 

157;. ..years,  113,  251 
number  of  my  steps,  220 
numbers,  symbolism  of  round,  xviii,  3, 

18,  25,  40,  138 

occasions,  =  groimds  of  enmity,  228 
organ,  =pipe,  155,  213 
ostriches,  213,  272  ;  Arab  proverb  regard- 
ing, 273 
oxen,  4,  173,  279 

papyrus,  62 

perfect,  =  righteous,  2,  63,  71 

perfection,  83,  194 

perverse  things,  50 

Phoenicians,  282 

Phoenix,  fable  respecting  the,  205 

piece  of  money,  289 

pillars  of  heaven,  185 

pleasure, =concern,  157,  163;  =  good,  158 

plenty  of  silver,  167 

Pliny,  referred  to,  13,  73,  217 

Plumptre's  Ecclesiastes  referred  to,  22 

post, =  courier,  72 

prepositions,  ambiguity  in  rendering  of 

Hebrew,  144 
present  tense,  graphic  use  of,  32  ;  gnomic, 

pride,  =  ungodliness,  xiv 
priests,  ancient  dignity  of,  92 
prince,  159,  220 
proud  helpers,  69 
punishments  of  the  sword,  146 

Rahab,  =  the  mythological  Leviathan  or 

Dragon,  Ixvi,  69,  185 
Ram,  222 
ransom,  231,  249 
ravens,  269 

recompence,  =  exchange,  115 
record,  =  sponsor,  124 
redeemer,  i.e.  Goel,  143,  294 — 296 
reem,  271 
refdtin,  183 

reins,  =  vital  parts,  121,  145 
remembrances,  =  maxims,  96 
remnant,  166 

Renan,  referred  to,  xlix,  Ivii 
Reuss,  referred  to,  xvii,  17,  82,  289 
rich,  =  wicked,  192 
rivers,  =  channels  or  galleries,  195 
robber,  =  snare,  37,  133 

Saadia,  referred  to,  62 
Sabeans,  10 
sackcloth,  121 
salutations.  Oriental,  5 


3,00 


INDEX. 


samoom,  the,  lo 

sanciilication,  preparatory  to  sacrifice,  5 

sand,   image  of  weight,  43;  of  countless 

number,  205 
sapphires,  195 

sarcophagus,  SiJonian,  described,  160 
Satan,  ix,  xxxi,  7,  135 
Schlottmann,  referred  to,  no,  265 
Schuhens,  A.,  referred  to,  xvi 
scorning,  =  impiety,  234 
sea,  personified  as  Leviathan,  20,  54,  6g, 

185 
seal(vb.),  229.  254 
seal  (subst. ),  263 
secret  of  God,  203 
Septuagint,  referred  to,  xv,  1,  14,  15,  33, 

34.  39.  S7.  92.   169.   i8s,  192,  196,  205, 

244,  267,  272,  289 
serpent,  =  Dragon  or  Leviathan,  20,  54, 

69.  185 
shadow  of  death,  19,  79,  93,  122, 176, 194, 

237,  264 
Shakespeare,  quoted,  5,  43,  46,  54,  I34t 

141,  144,  148,  160,  177,  181,  194,  266 
S/u'oi,  53,  84,  103.  106,  130,  13s,  15s.  178. 

185,  184,  198,  211,  215,  264 
Shuah.  17 

Simon  s  H i^tary  0/ the  O.  T.,  ref.  to,  xvii 
skin  of  my  teeth,  141 
skin  for  skin,  13 
snares,  133 
snow  water,  73,  178 
son  of  man,  125 
sons  of  God,  6,  262 
Sophocles,  quoted.  21 
Spanheim,  !•.,  referred  to,  xvi 
speak  wickedly  for  God,  95 
Spenser,  quoted,  74,  136 
spider's  web,  62 
spirit,  in  various  senses,  32, 112,  125,  147, 

183, 223 
spitting  in  the  face,  127,  128,  209 
spoiled,  =stripped  of  clothing,  92 
spreadings  of  the  clouds,  252 
stars,  ideas  respecting  the,  i8o,  262,  266 
storks,  272 
straitness,  Oriental  figure  for  adversity, 

133,  248,  249 
Stre.iiie's  Jeremiah  referred  to,  273 
strike  hands,  =  undertake  suretyship,  126 
Studer,  referred  to,  xxix,  54 
swallow  down  my  spittle,  56 
swift  ships,  72 
sword,   in  various  senses,  39,   114,  146, 

151,  230,  247,  280 

tabrels,  128 

Talmud  referred  to,  xiii,  Iviii 

Targiim,  referred  to,  12,  13,  15 

Tenia,  47 

Tern  in,  xix,  Ivii,  17 


Tennyson,  quoted,  52,  198 

tents,  34 

Theodore,  Bp  of  Mopsuestia,  ref.  to,  xv 

thieves,  176 

Thomson's  Land  and  Book  quoted,  256 

thorns,  =  thorn-hedge,  37 

thoughts  of  my  heart,  129 

threshing-floors,  156 

timbrels,  128,  155 

time,  in  various  senses,  71,  115,  165,  173 

ioholak,  33 

/t///,  =  timbrel,  128 

^o/Zte^^/n,  =spitting,  128 

trees,   frequent  objects   of  comparison, 

115,  116,  135,  139,  178,  205 
Tristram,  referred  to,  271,  273 
Tyndale's  version  quoted,  283 

uinibbesdrt,  291 

understanding,  =discretion,  89,  92 
unicorn,  =  wild  ox,  167,  271 
Uz,  I 

vain,  in  various  senses,  84,  109,  118,  190 
vanity,  In  various  senses,  52,  55,  115,  ii6, 

^14.  243 
Vergil,  quoted,  90, 133 
vile,  not  in  moral  sense,  276 
vines,  116 

vineyards,  174,  175,  177 
virion  of  Eliphaz,  32 
vows,   in   connection   with    requests   in 

prayer,  167 
Vulgate,  referred  to,  13,  98,  114,  169 

wardrobes,  element  of  Oriental  wealth, 

waters,  in  figurative  sense,  24,  164,  177, 

i93;  =  rain,  199,  265 
way,  in  various  senses,  23,  63,  139,  170, 

198,  206,  209,  214 
ways  of  their  destruction,  209 
wealth,  =  prosperity,  155 
Wetzsteln,  referred  to,  i,  14,  63,  192,  271 
white  of  an  egg,  44 

wicked,  in  various  sense.s,  150,  174,  236 
wilderness,  =  perplexity,  93 
wisdom,  in  various  senses,  39,  45,  82,  92, 

163,  197,  200 
wise,  in  vai  ions  senses,  16,  67,  84,  258 
woman,  Oriental  ideas  respecting,  3,  15 
worm,  Hebrew  words  signifying,  144,  i8t 
wrath,  in  various  senses,  36, 146,  247,  249 
Wright's  Bible  Word-Book  referred  to, 

74,  217,  272,  285 

Zophar,  comes  to  condole  with  Job,  17; 
his  character,  26;  fails  to  come  forward 
in  the  last  round  of  speeches,  27,  1S6; 
his  first    speech,  80 — 80;    his  second, 

146-152 


CAMBRIt>GR:    PRINTED   BY   C.    J.    CI.AV,    MA.    AND   SONS,    AT   THK   UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 


THE    CAMBRIDGE     BIBLE    FOR 
SCHOOLS    AND    COLLEGES. 

General  Editor,  The  Very  Rev.  J.  J.  S.  Perowne, 
Dean  of  Peterborough. 

"//  2S  difficitU  to  coiiuneiid too  highly  this  excellent  series." — Guardian. 

"The  modesty  of  the  general  title  of  this  series  has,  we  believe,  led 
many  to  misunderstand  its  character  and  underrate  its  value.  The  Iwoks 
are  ivell  suited  for  study  in  the  tipper  forms  of  cur  best  schools,  but  not 
the  less  are  they  adapted  to  the  7vants  of  all  Bible  students  ivho  are  not 
specialists.  Jle  (^oubt,  indeed,  whether  any  of  the  numerous  popular 
commentaries  recently  issued  in  this  country  will  be  found  more  service- 
able for  general  /«(?.  "^Academy. 

"  One  of  the  most  popular  and  useful  literary  enterprises  of  the 
nineteenth  century." — Baptist  Magazine. 

"  Of  great  value.  The  zvhole  series  of  comfnents  for  schools  is  highly 
esteemed  by  students  capable  of  foj-ming  a  judgment.  The  books  are 
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easily  understood." — Sword  and  Trowel. 

"  The  value  of  the  work  as  an  aid  to  Biblical  study,  not  7nerely  in 
schools  but  among  people  of  all  classes  who  are  desirous  to  have  intelligent 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  cannot  easily  be  over-estimated." — Tlie 
Scotsman. 


The  Book  of  Judges.  J.  J.  Lias,  M.A.  "  His  introduction  is  clear 
and  concise,  full  of  the  information  which  young  students  require,  and 
indicating  the  lines  on  which  the  various  problems  suggested  by  the 
Book  of  Judges  may  be  solved." — Baptist  Magazine. 

1  Samuel,  by  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick.  "Remembering  the  interest 
with  which  we  read  \}[i&  Books  of  the  Kingdom,  when  they  were  appointed 
as  a  subject  for  school  work  in  our  boyhood,  we  have  looked  wiUr  some 
eagerness  into  Mr  Kirkpatrick's  volume,  which  contains  the  first  instal- 
ment of  them.  We  are  struck  with  the  great  improvement  in  character, 
and  variety  in  the  materials,  with  which  schools  are  now  supplied.  A 
clear  map  inserted  in  each  volume,  notes  suiting  the  convenience  of  the 
scholar  and  the  difficulty  of  the  passage,  and  not  merely  dictated  by  the 
fancy  of  the  commentator,  were  luxuries  which  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  the  Biblical  student  could  not  buy." — Church  Quarterly  Review. 

"To  the  valuable  series  of  Scriptural  expositions  and  elementary 
commentaries  which  is  being  issued  at  the  Cambridge  University  Press, 
under  the  title  'The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,'  has  been  added 
The  First  Book  of  Samuel  by  the  Rev.  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick.  Like 
other  volumes  of  the  series,  it  contains  a  carefully  written  historical  and 
critical  introduction,  while  the  text  is  profusely  illustrated  and  explained 
by  notes." — The  Scotstnan. 
10,000 
21/10/89 


2      CAMBRIDGE  BIBLE  FOR  SCHOOLS   &   COLLEGES. 

II.  Samuel.  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick,  M.A.  "Small  as  this  work  is 
in  mere  dimensions,  it  is  every  way  the  best  on  its  subject  and  for  its 
purpose  that  we  know  of.  The  opening  sections  at  once  prove  the 
thorough  competence  of  the  writer  for  dealing  with  questions  of  criti- 
cism in  an  earnest,  faithful  and  devout  spirit ;  and  the  appendices  discuss 
a  few  special  difficulties  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  data,  and  a  judicial 
reserve,  which  contrast  most  favourably  with  the  superficial  dogmatism 
which  has  too  often  made  the  exegesis  of  the  Old  Testament  a  field  for 
the  play  of  unlimited  paradox  and  the  ostentation  of  personal  infalli- 
bility. The  notes  are  always  clear  and  suggestive;  never  trifling  or 
irrelevant ;  and  they  everywhere  demonstrate  the  great  difference  in 
value  between  the  work  of  a  commentator  who  is  also  a  Hebraist,  and 
that  of  one  who  has  to  depend  for  his  Hebrew  upon  secondhand 
sources. " — Academy. 

"The  Rev.  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick  has  now  completed  his  commentary 
on  the  two  books  of  Samuel.  This  second  volume,  like  the  first,  is 
furnished  with  a  scholarly  and  carefully  prepared  critical  and  historical 
introduction,  and  the  notes  supply  evci7thing  necessary  to  enable  the 
merely  English  scholar — so  far  as  is  possible  for  one  ignorant  of  the 
original  language — to  gather  up  the  precise  meaning  of  the  text.  Even 
Hebrew  scholars  may  consult  this  small  volume  with  profit." — Scotsman. 

I.  Kings  and  Ephesians.  "  \Yith  great  heartiness  we  commend 
these  most  valuable  little  commentaries.  We  had  rather  purchase 
these  than  nine  out  of  ten  of  the  big  blown  up  expositions.  Quality  is 
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Bookseller. 

II.  Kings.  "The  Introduction  is  scholarly  and  wholly  admirable, 
while  the  notes  must  be  of  incalculable  value  to  students." — Glnsgaia 
Herald. 

"It  is  equipped  with  a  valuable  introduction  and  commentary,  and 
makes  an  admirable  text  book  for  Bible-classes." — Scols/iian. 

"It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  commentary  better  suited  for  general 
use." — Academy. 

The  Book  of  Job.  "Able  and  scholarly  as  the  Introduction  is,  it  is 
far  surpassed  by  the  detailed  exegesis  of  the  book.  In  this  Ur  Davidson's 
strength  is  at  its  greatest.  His  linguistic  knowledge,  his  artistic  habit, 
his  scientific  insight,  and  his  literaiy  power  have  full  scope  when  he 

comes  to  exegesis The  book  is  worthy  of  the  reputation  of  1  )r  Davidson  ; 

it  represents  the  results  of  many  years  of  labour,  and  it  will  greatly  help 
to  the  right  understanding  of  one  of  the  greatest  works  in  the  literature 
of  the  world." — The  .spectator. 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  introduction,  Dr  Davidson  has  presented 
us  with  a  very  able  and  very  interesting  criticism  of  this  \\onderfuI 
book.  Its  contents,  the  nature  of  its  composition,  its  idea  and  purpose, 
its  integrity,  and  its  age  are  all  exhaustively  treated  of.... We  have  not 
space  to  examine  fully  the  text  and  notes  before  us,  but  we  can,  and  do 
heartily,  recommend  the  book,  not  only  for  the  upper  forms  in  schools, 
but  to  Bible  students  and  teachers  generally.  As  we  wrote  of  a  previous 
volume  in  the  same  series,  this  one  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.     The 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


notes  are  full  and  suggestive,  without  being  too  long,  and,  in  itself,  the 
introduction  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  modern  Bible  literature." — The 
Educational  Times. 

"Already  we  have  frequently  called  attention  to  this  exceedingly 
valuable  work  as  its  volumes  have  successively  appeared.  But  we  have 
never  done  so  with  greater  pleasure,  very  seldom  with  so  great  pleasure, 
as  we  now  refer  to  the  last  published  volume,  that  on  the  Book  of  Job, 
by  Dr  Davidson,  of  Edinburgh.... We  cordially  commend  the  volume  to 
all  our  readers.  The  least  instructed  will  understand  and  enjoy  it  ; 
and  mature  scholars  will  learn  from  it." — Methodist  Recorder. 

Job — Hosea.  "  It  is  difficult  to  commend  too  highly  this  excellent 
series,  the  volumes  of  which  are  now  becoming  numerous.  The  two 
books  before  us,  small  as  they  are  in  size,  comprise  almost  everything 
that  the  young  student  can  reasonably  expect  to  find  in  the  way  of  helps 
towards  such  general  knowledge  of  their  subjects  as  may  be  gained 
without  an  attempt  to  grapple  with  the  Hebrew;  and  even  the  learned 
scholar  can  hardly  read  without  interest  and  benefit  the  very  able  intro- 
ductory matter  which  both  these  commentators  have  prefixed  to  their 
volumes.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these  works  have  brought 
within  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  reader  resources  which  were  until 
lately  quite  unknown  for  understanding  some  of  the  most  difficult  and 
obscure  portions  of  Old  Testament  literature." — Guardian. 

Ecclesiastes ;  or,  the  Preacher. — "Of  the  Notes,  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  they  are  in  every  respect  worthy  of  Dr  Plumptre's  high  repu- 
tation as  a  scholar  and  a  critic,  being  at  once  learned,  sensible,  and 
practical.  ...  An  appendix,  in  which  it  is  clearly  proved  that  the 
author  of  Ecclesiastes  anticipated  Shakspeare  and  Tennyson  in  some 
of  their  finest  thoughts  and  reflections,  will  be  read  with  interest  by 
students  both  of  Hebrew  and  of  English  literature.  Commentaries  are 
seldom  attractive  reading.  This  little  volume  is  a  notable  exception." — 
The  Scotsman. 

"In  short,  this  little  book  is  of  far  greater  value  than  most  of  the 
larger  and  more  elaborate  commentaries  on  this  Scripture.  Indispens- 
able to  the  scholar,  it  will  render  real  and  large  help  to  all  who  have  to 
expound  the  dramatic  utterances  of  The  Preacher  whether  in  the  Church 
or  in  the  School." — The  Expositor. 

"The  'ideal  biography'  of  the  author  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite 
and  fascinating  pieces  of  writing  we  have  met  with,  and,  granting  its 
starting-point,  throws  wonderful  light  on  many  problems  connected  w^ith 
the  book.  The  notes  illustrating  the  text  are  full  of  delicate  criticism, 
fine  glowing  insight,  and  apt  historical  allusion.  An  abler  volume 
than  Professor  Plumptre's  we  could  not  desire." — Baptist  Magazine. 

Jeremiah,  by  A.  VV.  Streane.  "The  arrangement  of  the  book  is 
well  treated  on  pp.  xxx.,  396,  and  the  question  of  Baruch's  relations 
with  its  composition  on  pp.  xxvii.,  xxxiv.,  317.  The  illustrations  from 
English  literature,  history,  monuments,  works  on  botany,  topography, 
etc^  are  good  and  plentiful,  as  indeed  they  are  in  other  volumes  of  this 
series." — Church  Quarterly  Keviciv,  April,  1S81. 

"Mr  Streane's  Jeremiah  consists  of  a  series  of  admirable  and  well- 
nigh  exhaustive  notes  on  the  text,  with  introduction  and  appendices, 
drawing  the  life,  times,  and  character  of  the  prophet,  the  style,  contents. 


4      CAMBRIDGE   BIBLE   FOR   SCHOOLS   &   COLLEGES. 

and  arrangement  of  his  prophecies,  the  traditions  relating  to  Jeremiah, 
meant  as  a  type  of  Christ  (a  most  remarkable  chapter),  and  other 
prophecies  relating  to  Jeremiah." — The  English  Churchman  and  Clerical 
Journal, 

Obadiah  and  Jonah.  "  This  number  of  the  admirable  scries  of 
Scriptural  expositions  issued  by  the  Syndics  of  the  Cambridge  Uni- 
versity Press  is  well  up  to  the  mark.  The  numerous  notes  are 
excellent.  No  difficulty  is  shirked,  and  much  light  is  thrown  on  the 
contents  both  of  Obadiah  and  Jonah.  Scholars  and  students  of  to-day 
are  to  be  congratulated  on  having  so  large  an  amount  of  information  on 
Biblical  subjects,  so  clearly  and  ably  put  together,  placed  within  their 
reach  in  such  small  bulk.  To  all  Biblical  students  the  series  will  be 
acceptable,  and  for  the  use  of  Sabbath-school  teachers  will  prove 
invaluable." — N'ortli  British  Daily  I\lail. 

"  It  is  a  very  useful  and  sensible  exposition  of  these  two  Minor 
Prophets,  and  deals  very  thoroughly  and  honestly  with  the  immense 
difficulties  of  the  later-named  of  the  two,  from  the  orthodox  point  of 
view.' ' — Expositor. 

"  Haggai  and  Zechariah.  This  interesting  little  volume  is  of  great 
value.  It  is  one  of  the  best  books  in  that  well-known  series  of 
scholarly  and  popular  commentaries,  'the  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools 
and  Colleges'  of  which  Dean  Perowne  is  the  General  Editor.  In  the 
expositions  of  Archdeacon  Perowne  we  are  always  sure  to  notice 
learning,  ability,  judgment  and  reverence  ....  The  notes  are  terse 
and  pointed,  but  full  and  reliable." — CJtiircliman. 

"  The  Gospel  according  to  St  Matthew,  by  the  Rev.  A.  Carr.  The 
introduction  is  able,  scholarly,  and  eminently  practical,  as  it  bears 
on  the  authorship  and  contents  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  original  form 
in  which  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  written.  It  is  well  illustrated  by 
two  excellent  maps  of  the  Holy  Land  and  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee." — 
English  Churchman. 

"St  Matthew,  edited  by  A.  Carr,  M.A.  The  Book  of  Joshua, 
edited  by  G.  F.  Maclear,  D.D.  The  General  Epistle  of  St  James, 
edited  by  E.  II.  Pi.UMrTKK,  D.D.  The  introductions  and  notes  are 
scholarly,  and  generally  such  as  young  readers  need  and  can  appre- 
ciate. The  maps  in  both  Joshua  and  Matthew  are  very  good,  and  all 
matters  of  editing  are  faultless.  Professor  Plumptre's  notes  on  'The 
Epistle  of  St  James'  are  models  of  terse,  exact,  and  elegant  renderings 
of  the  original,  which  is  too  often  obscured  in  the  authorised  version." — 
Nonconformist. 

"St  Mark,  with  Notes  by  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Maci.ear,  D.D.  Into 
this  small  volume  Dr  Maclear,  besides  a  clear  and  able  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Gospel,  and  the  text  of  St  Mark,  has  compressed  many 
hundreds  of  valuable  and  hel[)ful  notes.  In  short,  he  has  given  us 
a  capital  manual  of  the  kind  required — containing  all  that  is  needed  to 
illustrate  the  text,  i.e.  all  that  can  be  drawn  from  the  history,  geography, 
customs,  and  manners  of  the  time.  But  as  a  handbook,  giving  in  a 
clear  and  succinct  form  the  information  which  a  lad  requires  in  order 

to  stand  an  examination  in  the  Gospel,  it  is  admirable I  can  very 

heartily  commend  it,  not  only  to  the  senior  boys  and  girls  in  our  High 
Schools,  but  also  to  Sunday-school  teachers,  who  may  get  from  it  the 
very  kind  of  knowledge  they  often  find  it  hardest  to  get." — Expositor. 


OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 


"With  the  help  of  a  book  like  this,  an  intelligent  teacher  may  make 
'Divinity'  as  interesting  a  lesson  as  any  in  the  school  course.  The 
notes  are  of  a  kind  that  will  be,  for  the  most  part,  intelligible  to  boys 
of  the  lower  forms  of  our  public  schools ;  but  they  may  be  read  with 
greater  profit  by  the  fifth  and  sixth,  in  conjunction  with  the  original 
text." — The  Academy. 

"St  Luke.  Canon  Farrar  has  supplied  students  of  the  Gospel 
with  an  admirable  manual  in  this  volume.  It  has  all  that  copious 
variety  of  illustration,  ingenuity  of  suggestion,  and  general  soundness  of 
interpretation  which  readers  are  accustomed  to  expect  from  the  learned 
and  eloquent  editor.  Any  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  associate 
the  idea  of  'dryness'  with  a  commentary,  should  go  to  Canon  Farrar's 
St  Luke  for  a  more  correct  impression.  He  will  find  that  a  commen- 
tary may  be  made  interesting  in  the  highest  degree,  and  that  without 
losing  anything  of  its  solid  value.  .  ,  .  But,  so  to  speak,  it  is  too  good 
for  some  of  the  readers  for  whom  it  is  intended." — The  Spectator. 

"Canon  Farrar's  contribution  to  The  Cambridge  School  Bible 
is  one  of  the  most  valuable  yet  made.  His  annotations  on  The  Gospel 
according  to  St  Luke,  while  they  display  a  scholarship  at  least  as  sound, 
and  an  erudition  at  least  as  wide  and  varied  as  those  of  the  editors  of 
St  Matthew  and  St  Mark,  are  rendered  telling  and  attractive  by  a 
more  lively  imagination,  a  keener  intellectual  and  spiritual  insight,  a 
more  incisive  and  picturesque  style.  His  St  Luke  is  worthy  to  be  ranked 
with  Professor  Plumptre's  St  James,  than  which  no  higher  commend- 
ation can  well  be  given." — The  Expositor. 

"St  Luke.  Edited  by  Canon  Farrar,  D.D.  We  have  received  with 
pleasure  this  edition  of  the  Gospel  by  St  Luke,  by  Canon  Farrar.  It  is 
another  instalment  of  the  best  school  commentary  of  the  Bible  we  pos- 
sess. Of  the  expository  part  of  the  work  we  cannot  speak  too  highly. 
It  is  admirable  in  every  way,  and  contains  just  the  sort  of  informa- 
tion needed  for  Students  of  the  English  text  unable  to  make  use  of  the 
original  Greek  for  themselves." — The  N'onconformist  ajtd  Independent. 

"As  a  handbook  to  the  third  gospel,  this  small  work  is  invaluable. 
The  author  has  compressed  into  little  space  a  vast  mass  of  scholarly  in- 
formation. .  .  The  notes  are  pithy,  vigorous,  and  suggestive,  abounding 
in  pertinent  illustrations  from  general  literature,  and  aiding  the  youngest 
reader  to  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  text.  A  finer  contribution  to 
'The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools'  has  not  yet  been  made."— i?a//'w/ 
Magazine. 

"We  were  quite  prepared  to  find  in  Canon  Farrar's  St  Luke  a 
masterpiece  of  Biblical  criticism  and  comment,  and  we  are  not  dis- 
appointed by  our  examination  of  the  volume  before  us.  It  reflects  very 
faithfully  the  learning  and  critical  insight  of  the  Canon's  greatest  works, 
his  'Life  of  Christ'  and  his  'Life  of  St  Paul',  but  differs  widely  from 
both  in  the  terseness  and  condensation  of  its  style.  What  Canon  Farrar 
has  evidently  aimed  at  is  to  place  before  students  as  much  information 
as  possible  within  the  limits  of  the  smallest  possible  space,  and 
in  this  aim  he  has  hit  the  mark  to  perfection." — The  Examiner. 


6     CAMBRIDGE  BIBLE  FOR  SCHOOLS  &  COLLEGES. 

The  Gospel  according  to  St  John.     "Of  the  notes  we  can  say  with 

confulencc  tliat  tliey  are  useful,  neccssaiy,  learned,  and  brief.  To 
Divinity  students,  lo  teachers,  and  for  private  use,  this  compact 
Commentary  will  be  found  a  valuable  aid  to  the  better  understanding 
of  the  Sacred  Text." — School  Guardian. 

"The  new  volume  of  the  'Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools' — the 
Gospel  according  to  St  John,  by  the  Rev.  A.  Plummer — shows  as 
careful  and  thorough  work  as  either  of  its  predecessors.  The  intro- 
duction concisely  yet  fully  describes  the  life  of  St  John,  the  authenticity 
of  the  Gospel,  its  characteristics,  its  relation  to  the  Synoptic  Gospels, 
and  to  the  Apostle's  First  Epistle,  and  the  usual  subjects  referred  to  in 
an  'introduction'." — TJie  Christian  Church. 

"The  notes  are  extremely  scholarly  and  valuable,  and  in  most  cases 
exhaustive,  bringing  to  the  elucidation  of  the  text  all  that  is  best  in 
commentaries,  ancient  and  modern." — The  English  Churchman  and 
Clerical  yournal. 

"(i)  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  By  J.  Rawson  Ltimby,  D.D. 
(2)  The  Second  Epistle  of  the  Corinthians,  edited  by  Professor  Lias. 
The  introduction  is  pithy,  and  contains  a  mass  of  carefully-selected 
information  on  the  authorship  of  the  Acts,  its  designs,  and  its  sources. 

The  Second  Epistle  of  the  Corinthians  is  a  manual  beyond  all  praise, 

for  the  excellence  of  its  pithy  and  pointed  annotations,  its  analysis  of  ihe 
contents,  and  the  fulness  and  value  of  its  introduction." — Examiner. 

"The  concluding  portion  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  under  the  very 
competent  editorship  of  Dr  Lumhy,  is  a  valuable  addition  to  our 
school-books  on  that  subject.  Detailed  criticism  is  impossible  within 
the  space  at  our  command,  but  we  may  say  that  the  ample  notes  touch 
with  much  exactness  the  very  points  on  which  most  readers  of  the  text 
desire  information.  Due  reference  is  made,  where  necessary,  to  the 
Revised  Version  ;  the  maps  are  excellent ;  and  we  do  not  know  of  any 
other  volume  where  so  much  help  is  given  to  the  complete  understand- 
ing of  one  of  the  most  important  and,  in  many  respects,  difficult  books 
of  the  New  Testament." — School  Guardian. 

"The  Rev.  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  M.A.,  has  made  a  valuable  addition 
to  The  Camp.ridge  P>ibi.k  for  Schools  in  his  brief  commentary  on 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  'Notes'  are  very  good,  and  lean, 
as  the  notes  of  a  School  Bible  should,  to  the  most  commonly  ac- 
cepted and  orthodox  view  of  the  inspired  author's  meaning ;  while  the 
Introduction,  and  especially  the  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  St  Paul,  is  a  model 
of  condensation.  It  is  as  lively  and  pleasant  to  read  as  if  two  or  three 
facts  had  not  been  crowded  into  well-nigh  every  sentence." — Expositor. 

"The  Epistle  to  the  Romans.     It  is  seldom  we  have  met  with  a 

work  so  remarkable  for  the  compression  and  condensation  of  all  that 
is  valuable  in  the  smallest  possible  sjiace  as  in  the  volume  before  us. 
Within  its  limited  pages  we  have  '  a  sketch  of  the  Life  of  St  Paul,' 
we  have  further  a  critical  account  of  the  date  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  of  its  language,  and  of  its  genuineness.  The  notes  are 
numerous,  full  of  matter,  to  the  point,  and  leave  no  real  difficulty 
or  obscurity  unexplained." — The  Examiner. 


OPINIONS    OF   THE   PRESS. 


' '  The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  Edited  by  Professor  Lias, 
Every  fresh  instalment  of  this  annotated  edition  of  the  Bible  for  Schools 
confirms  the  favourable  opinion  we  formed  of  its  value  from  the  exami- 
nation of  its  first  number.  The  origin  and  plan  of  the  Epistle  are 
discussed  with  its  character  and  genuineness." — The  A^oncoiiforniist. 

"The  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  By  Professor  Lias.  The 
General  Epistles  of  St  Peter  and  St  Jude.  By  E.  H.  Plumptre,  D.D. 
We  welcome  these  additions  to  the  valuable  series  of  the  Cambridge 
Bible.  We  have  nothing  to  add  to  the  commendation  which  we 
have  from  the  first  publication  given  to  this  edition  of  the  Bible.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that  Professor  Lias  has  completed  his  work  on  the  two 
Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  in  the  same  admirable  manner  as  at  first. 
Dr  Plumptre  has  also  completed  the  Catholic  Epistles." — Nonconformist. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  By  Rev.  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  M.A. 
"  It  seems  to  us  the  model  of  a  School  and  College  Commentary — 
comprehensive,  but  not  cumbersome;  scholarly,  but  not  pedantic." — 
Baptist  Magazine. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  "There  are  few  series  more  valued 
by  theological  students  than  '  The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and 
Colleges,'  and  there  will  be  no  number  of  it  more  esteemed  than  that 
by  Mr  H.  C.  G.  Moule  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Fhilip/>ians.'" — Record. 

"  Another  capital  volume  of  'The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and 
Colleges.'  The  notes  are  a  model  of  scholarly,  lucid,  and  compact 
criticism." — Baptist  Magazine. 

Hebrews.  "  Like  his  (Canon  Farrar's)  commentary  on  Luke  it 
possesses  all  the  best  characteristics  of  his  writing.  It  is  a  work  not 
only  of  an  accomplished  scholar,  but  of  a  skilled  teacher." — Baptist 
Magazine. 

"We  heartily  commend  this  volume  of  this  excellent  work." — 
Sunday  School  Chronicle. 

"The  General  Epistle  of  St  James,  by  Professor  Plumptre,  D.D. 
Nevertheless  it  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  by  far  the  best  exposition  of  the 
Epistle  of  St  James  in  the  English  language.  Not  Schoolboys  or 
Students  going  in  for  an  examination  alone,  but  Ministers  and  Preachers 
of  the  Word,  may  get  more  real  help  from  it  than  from  the  most  costly 
and  elaborate  commentaries." — Expositor. 

The  Epistles  of  St  John.  By  the  Rev.  A.  Plummer,  M.A.,  D.D. 
"This  forms  an  admirable  companion  to  the  'Commentary  on  the 
Gospel  according  to  St  John,'  which  was  reviewed  in  The  Churchman 
as  soon  as  it  appeared.  Dr  Plummer  has  some  of  the  highest  qualifica- 
tions for  such  a  task  ;  and  these  two  volumes,  their  size  being  considered, 
will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  Commentaries  of  the  time." — The 
Churchman. 

"  Dr  Plummer's  edition  of  the  Epistles  of  St  John  is  worthy  of  its 
companions  in  the  'Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools'  Series.  The 
subject,  though  not  apparently  extensive,  is  really  one  not  easy  to 
treat,  and  requiring  to  be  treated  at  length,  owing  to  the  constant 
reference  to  obscure  heresies  in  the  Johannine  writings.  Dr  Plummer 
has  done  his  exegetical  task  well." — The  Saturday  Review, 


THE  CAMBRIDGE  GREEK  TESTAMENT 

roR  SCHOOLS  and  colleges 

with  a  Revised  Text,  based  on  the  most  recent  critical  authorities,  and 

English  Notes,  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the  General  Editor, 

The  Very  Reverend  J.  J.  S.  PEROWNE,  D.D. 

"  Has  achicz'cd  an  excellence  'i'hich  puts  it  aboz'c  criticism^ — Expositor. 

St  Matthew.  "  Copious  illustrations,  gathered  from  a  great  variety 
of  sources,  make  his  notes  a  very  valuable  aid  to  the  student.  They 
are  indeed  remarkably  interesting,  ■while  all  explanations  on  meanings, 
applications,  and  the  like  are  distinguished  by  their  lucidity  and  good 
sense. "' — Fall  Mall  Gazette. 

St  Mark.  ' '  The  Cambridge  Greek  Testament  of  which  Dr  ^L\clear's 
edition  of  the  Gospel  according  to  St  Mark  is  a  volume,  certainly 
supplies  a  want.  Without  pretending  to  compete  with  the  leading 
commentaries,  or  to  embody  verj-  much  original  research,  it  forms  a 
most  satisfactory  introduction  to  the  study  of  the  New  Testament  in 
the  original.. ..Dr  Maclear's  introduction  contains  all  that  is  known  of 
St  Mark's  life ;  an  account  of  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Gospel 
was  composed,  with  an  estimate  of  the  inlluence  of  St  Peter's  teaching 
upon  St  Mark ;  an  excellent  sketch  of  the  special  characteristics  of  this 
Gospel ;  an  analysis,  and  a  chapter  on  the  text  of  the  New  Testament 
generally. " — Saturday  Revieio. 

St  Luke.  "Of  this  second  series  we  have  a  new  volume  by 
Archdeacon  Farr.'^r  on  St  Luke,  completing  the  four  Gospels. ...It 
gives  us  in  clear  and  beautiful  language  the  best  results  of  modern 
scholarship.  We  have  a  most  attractive  Introduction.  Then  follows 
a  sort  of  composite  Greek  text,  representing  fairly  and  in  verj'  beautiful 
type  the  consensus  of  modem  textual  critics.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
exposition  of  each  chapter  of  the  Gospel  are  a  few  short  critical  notes 
giving  the  manuscript  evidence  for  such  various  readings  as  seem  to 
deserve  mention.  The  expository  notes  are  short,  but  clear  and  helpful. 
For  young  students  and  those  who  are  not  disposed  to  buy  or  to  study 
the  much  more  costly  work  of  Godet,  this  seems  to  us  to  be  the  best 
book  on  the  Greek  Text  of  the  Third  Gospel."— J/rf/^tv/zV/  Recorder. 

St  John.  "  We  take  this  opportunity  of  recommending  to  ministers 
on  probation,  the  very  excellent  volume  of  the  same  series  on  this  part 
of  the  New  Testament.  We  hope  that  most  or  all  of  our  young  ministers 
will  prefer  to  study  the  volume  in  the  Cambridge  Greek  Testa niait  for 
Schools. ''—Methodist  Recorder. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  "Professor  Lumby  has  performed  his 
laborious  task  well,  and  supplied  us  with  a  commentary  the  fulness  and 
freshness  of  which  Bible  students  will  not  be  slow  to  appreciate.  The 
volume  is  enriched  with  the  usual  copious  indexes  and  four  coloured 
maps." —  Glasgo'i'  Herald. 

I.  Corinthians.  "Mr  Lias  is  no  novice  in  New  Testament  exposi- 
tion, and  the  present  series  of  essays  and  notes  is  an  able  and  helpful 
addition  to  the  existing  books." — Guardian. 

The  Epistles  of  St  John.  "  In  the  very  useful  and  well  annotated 
series  f>f  the  Cambridge  Greek  Testament  the  volume  on  the  Epistles 
of  St  John  must  hold  a  high  position ...  The  notes  are  brief,  well 
informed  and  intelligent." — Scotsman. 

CAMBRIDGE:    I'KI.NTKD    BY    C.   J     CLAY,    .M.A.    AND    SONS,  .\T   THE   UNIVERSITY    PRESS. 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS. 

THE    PITT    PRESS   SERIES. 


*^*  Many  of  ilw  books  in  this  list  can  he  had  in  ttuo   voliuncs.    Text 
and  Azotes  separately. 

I.     GREEK. 

Aristophanes.    Aves— Plutus— Ranse.     By  W.    C.   Green, 

M.A.,  late  Assistant  Master  at  Rugby  School.     3^.  dd.  each. 

Aristotle.    Outlines  of   the  Philosophy  of.     Compiled    by 

Edwin  Wallace,  M.A.,  LL.D.     Third  Edition,  Enlarged,     ^s.  6d. 

Euripides.     Heracleidae.    With  Introduction  and  Explanatory 

Notes.     By  E.  A.  Beck,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Trinity  Hall.     3^.  6d. 

Hercules    Furens.      With    Introduction,    Notes   and 

Analysis.     By  A.  Gray,  iM.A.,  andj.  T.  Hutchinson,  M.A.     New  Ed.     2.?. 

Hippolytus.    With  Introduction  and  Notes.    By  W.  S. 


Hadley,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Pembroke  College,     is. 

Iphigeneia  in  Aulis.  By  C.  E.  S.  Headlam,  B.A.  2s.  6d. 


Herodotus,  Book  V.     Edited  with  Notes  and  Introduction  by 

E.  S.  Shuckburgh,  M.A.     y. 

Book  VI.     By  the  same  Editor.     4^-. 

Book  VIII.,  Chaps.  1—90.    By  the  same  Editor.    3^-.  6d. 

Book  IX.,  Chaps.  1 — 89.     By  the  same  Editor,    y.  6d. 

Homer.    Odyssey,  Books  IX.,  X.    With  Introduction,  Notes 

and  Appendices  by  G.  M.  Edwards,  M.A.     2S.  6d.  each. 

Book  XXI.     By  the  same  Editor.     2s. 

Luciani  Somnium  Charon  Piscator  et  De  Luctu.    By  W.  E. 

Heitland,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  St  John's  College,  Cambridge.     3J.  6d. 

Platonis  Apologia  Socratis.     With  Introduction,  Notes  and 

Appendices.     By  J.  Adam,  M.A.     3J.  6d. 

Crito.     By  the  same  Editor.    2s.  6d. 

Euthyphro.     By  the  same  Editor.  [In  the  Press. 

Plutarch.     Lives  of  the  Gracchi.    With  Introduction,  Notes 

and  Lexicon  by  Rev.  H.  A.  Holden,  M.A.,  LL.D.     6.?. 

Life  of  Nicias.     By  the  same  Editor,     ^s. 

Life  of  Sulla.     By  the  same  Editor.     6s. 

Life  of  Timoleon.    By  the  same  Editor.     6s. 

Sophocles.      Oedipus   TyrannUS.      School   Edition,    with    Intro- 
duction and  Commentary  by  R.  C.Jebb,  Litt.D.,  LL.D.     US.  6d. 

Xenophon.    Agesilaus.    By  H.  Hailstone,  M.A.    2s.  6d. 
Anabasis.    With  Introduction,  Map  and  English  Notes, 

by  A.  Pretor,  M.A.     Two  vols,     ^s.6d. 

Books  I.  III.  IV.  and  V.     By  the  same.     2s.  each. 

Books  II.  VI.  and  VIL     By  the  same.     2s.  6d.  each. 

Xenophon.     Cyropaedeia.    Books  I.  II.    With  Introduction 

and  Notes  by  Rev.  H.  A.  Holden,  M.A.,  LL.D.    2  vols.    &r. 

Books  III.  IV.  and  V.   By  the  same  Editor.   5^-. 

Londoti :    Cambridge    Warehouse.,  Ave  ATaria  Lane. 
50/12/89 


PUBLICATIONS   OF 


II.     LATIN. 

Beda's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Books  III.,  IV.    Edited  with 

a  life,  Notes,  Glossary,  Onomasticon  and  Index,  by  J.  E.  B.  Mayor,  M.A.,  and 
J.  R.  LuMBY,  D.D.     Revised  Edition,     -js.  td. 

Books  I.  II.     By  the  same  Editors.  [/«  the  Press. 

Caesar.  De  Bello  Gallico,  Comment.  I.    With  Maps  and  Notes 

by  A.  G.  Peskett,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  M.igdalene  College,  Cambridge,  u.  dd. 
Comment.  II.  III.  ar.  Comment.  I.  II.  III.  3^.  Comment.  IV.  V.,  and 
Comment.  VII.    ■is.  each.    Comment.  VI.  and  Comment.  VIII.    \s.  (>d.  each. 

Cicero.    De  Amicitia.— De  Senectute.    Edited  by  J.  S.  Reid, 

Litt.D.,  Fellow  <]f  Gonville  and  Caius  College,     y.  6d.  each. 

In  Gaium  Verrem  Actio  Prima.     With  Notes,  by 

H.  CowiE,  M.A.     IS.  ed. 

In  Q.  Caecilium  Divinatio  et  in  C.  Verrem  Actio. 


With  Notes  by  W.  E.  Hritland,  M.A.,  and  H.  Cowie,  M.A.     3^. 

Philippica  Secunda.    By  A.  G.  Peskett,  M.A.  3^-.  6d. 

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III.     FRENCH. 

Comeille.     La  Suite  du  Menteur.     A  Comedy  in  Five  Acts. 

With  Notes  Philological  and  Historical,  by  the  late  G.  Masson,  B.A.     is. 

De  Bonnechose.  Lazare  Hoche.  With  four  Maps,  Intro- 
duction and  Commentary,  by  C.  Colbeck,  M.A.     Revised  Edition.     2J. 

D'Harleville.  Le  Vieux  C^libataire.  A  Comedy,  Gram- 
matical and  Historical  Notes,  by  G.  Masson,  B.A.    is. 

De    Lamartine.    Jeanne    D'Arc.    Edited  with   a  Map  and 

Notes  Historical  and  Philological,  and  a  Vocabulary,  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Clapin, 
M.A.,  St  John's  College,  Cambridge,     is. 

De    Vigny.    La    Canne  de  Jonc.     Edited    with    Notes    by 

Rev.  H.  A.  Bull,  M.A.,  late  Master  at  Wellington  College.     2.v. 

Erckmann-Chatrian.    La  Guerre.    With  Map,  Introduction 

and  Commentary  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Clapin,  M.A.     35-. 

La  Baronne  de  Stael-Holstein.  Le  Directoire.  (Considera- 
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and  enlarged.    With  Notes  by  G.  Masson,  B.A.,  and  G.  W.  Pkothero,  M.A.    is. 

Dix  Annies  d'Exil.    Livre  IL   Chapitres  1—8. 

By  the  same  Editors.     New  Edition,  enlarged.     2.J. 

Lemercier.    Fredegonde  et  Brunehaut.    A  Tragedy  in  Five 

Acts.     By  Gustave  Masson,  B.A.     is. 

Moli^re.    Le    Bourgeois    Gentilhomme,   Comedie-Ballet    en 

Cinq  Actes.     (1670.)     By  Rev.  A.  C.  Clapin,  M.A.     Revised  Edition,     is.dd. 

L'Ecole  des  Femmes.    With  Introduction  and  Notes  by 

G.  Saintsburv,  M.A.     is.  tid. 

Les   Pr^cieuses    Ridicules.     With   Introduction   and 


Notes  by  E.  G.  W.  Braunholtz,  M.A.,  Ph.D. 

Piron.    La    M^tromanie.     A    Comedy,  with    Notes,   by    G. 

Masson,  B.A.    2^-. 

Eacine.     Les  Plaideurs.     With  Introduction   and  Notes,  by 

E.  G.  W.  Braunholtz,  M.A.,  Ph.D.     is. 

Sainte-Beuve.     M.  Daru   (Causeries    du    Lundi,   Vol.    IX.) 

By  G.  Masson,  B.A.     is. 

Saintine.    Picciola.     With  Introduction,  Notes  and  Map.     By 

Rev.  A.  C.  Clapin,  M.A.     is. 

Scribe  and  Legouv^.    Bataille  de  Dames.    Edited  by  Rev 

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Scribe.     Le  Verre  d'Eau.     A  Comedy;  with  Memoir,  Gram- 
matical and  Historical  Notes.     Edited  by  C.  Colbeck,  M.A.     2.J. 

S^daine.     Le  Philosophe  sans  ]e  savoir.     Edited  with  Notes 

by  Rev.  H.  A.  Bull,  M.A.,  late  Master  at  Wellington  College,     is. 

Thierry.    Lettres  sur  I'histoire  de  France  (XIII.— XXIV.). 

By  G.  Masson,  B.A.,  and  G.  W.  Prothero,  M.A.     is.  td. 

K^cits  des  Temps  M^rovingiens  I— III.    Edited  by 

Gustave  Masson,  B.A.  Univ.  Gallic,  and  A.  R.  Ropes,  M.A.    With  Map.   35. 

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tated by  WiLHELM  Wagnei;,  Ph.D.     2J. 

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Hauff.    Das  Bild  des  Kaisers.     By  Karl  Hermann  Breul, 

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Das  Wirthshaus  im  Spessart.    By  A.  Schlottmann, 

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Die  Karavane.     Edited  with  Notes  by  A.  Schlott- 
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Immermann.    Der  Oberhof.    A  Tale  of  Westphalian  Life,  by 

WiLllELM  Wag.nek,  Ph.D.      3^. 

Kohlrausch.  Das  Jahr  1813.  With  English  Notes  by  Wilhelm 

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Lessing  and  Gellert.    Selected  Fables.    Edited  with  Notes 

by  Karl  Hi-.r.mann  1!keul,  M.A.     3^. 

Mendelssohn's  Letters.     Selections  from.     Edited  by  James 

SiME,  M.A.     3i. 

Raumer.    Der  erste  Kreuzzug  (1095 — 1099).     By  Wilhelm 

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Schiller.    Wilhelm  Tell.    Edited  with  Introduction  and  Notes 

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V.     ENGLISH. 

Ancient  Philosophy  from  Thales  to  Cicero,  A  Sketch  of.    By 

Joseph  B.  JNIayor,  M.A.     3j.  dd. 

Bacons  History  of  the  Reign  of  King  Henry  VII.    With 

Notes  by  the  Rev.  Professor  Lumby,  D.D.     3^. 

Cowley's  Essays.    With  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  the  Rev. 

Professor  LuMBY,  D.D.     4J. 

More's  History  of  King  Richard  III.    Edited  with  Notes, 

Glossary,  Index  of  Names.     By  J.  Rawson  Lumby,  D.D.     3^.  dd. 

More's  Utopia.   With  Notes,  by  Rev.  Prof.  Lumby,  D.D.    3^-.  bd. 
The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen,  edited  with  Introduction  and  Notes, 

by  the  Rev.  Professor  Skeat,  Litt.D.     3^.  dd. 


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Comenius,  John  Amos,  Bishop  of  the  Moravians.     His  Life 

and  Educational  Works,  by  S.   S.    Laurie,  A.IM.,  F.R.S.E.     3J.  dd. 

Education,  Three  Lectures  on  the  Practice  of.  I.  On  Mark- 
ing, by  h.  w.  Eve,  m.  a.  n.  On  Stimulus,  by  A.  SiDGWicK,  M.A.  IlL  On 
the  Teaching  of  Latin  Verse  Composition,  by  E.  A.  Abbott,  D.D.     2J. 

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Syndicate,  May,  1882,  by  A.  Sidgwick,  M.A.     \s. 

Locke  on  Education.     With  Introduction  and  Notes  by  the 

Rev.  R.  H.  Quick,  M.A.     3^.  td. 

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the  Edition  of  1673.     Edited  with  Notes,  by  O.  Browning,  M.A.     2s. 

Modern  Languages,  Lectures  on  the  Teaching  of.    By  C. 

COLBECK,  M.A.       2i-. 

Teacher,  General  Aims  of  the,  and  Form  Management.    Two 

Lectures  delivered  in  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  the  Lent  Term,  1883,  by 
F.  W.  Farrar,  D.D.,  and  R.  B.  Poole,  B.D.     i.f.  td. 

Teaching,  Theory  and  Practice  of.    By  the  Rev.  E.  Thring, 

M.  A.,  late  Head  Master  of  Uppingham  School.     New  Edition.    +r.  td. 


British  India,  a  Short  History  of.    By  E.  S.  Carlos,  M.A., 

late  Head  Master  of  Exeter  Grammar  School.     \5. 

Geography,  Elementary  CommerciaL    A  Sketch  of  the  Com- 
modities and  the  Countries  of  the  World.    By  H.  R.  Mill,  D.Sc,  F.R.S.E.    \s. 

Geography,  an  Atlas  of  Commercial.    (A  Companion  to  the 

above.)    By  J.  G.  Bartholomew,  F.R.G.S.     With  an  Introduction  by  Hugh 
Robert  Mill,  D.Sc.     ^.y. 


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its  of  Geometry.    Books  I.  an 

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Euclid's  Elements  of  Geometry.    Books  L  and  II.    By  H.  M. 

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